Amazon sidelines speedy shipping to compete with Temu and SHEIN

The move to ship directly from factories in China is a new avenue for Amazon, which has typically stored all of its stock in local warehouses before they’re bought by sellers.

It’s also a little hypocritical, as the company has been critical of Temu’s low-prices in the past. Amazon has removed Temu products it from its price-search algorithm, a tool that compares Amazon’s prices competitively against other shops on the internet.

Representatives from Amazon said that the reasoning behind this is that Temu ‘did not meet the requirements’ for its fair pricing policy. Now, Amazon is taking a leaf out of Temu’s book and sourcing product ranges with similar price points.

If all goes smoothly, the ‘discount shop’ is set to launch sometime on Amazon this autumn.

It’s not exactly a secret that somebody picks up the true cost of low-priced items we’re influenced into buying on TikTok. They don’t pay financially, but rather with hard labour in horrible working conditions.

Behind-the-scenes footage and investigative reports from SHEIN factories have revealed that employees are overworked and underpaid, expected to product 500 garments a day while earning just £500 per month.

Temu’s factory doors have been virtually sealed shut, but the shockingly low-priced items on their website indicate that their processes can’t be much different. It no surprise that a widely-circulated video of factory workers in depressing conditions was believed to be connected to the brand.

Based on Amazon’s history of ethical offences – it’s ‘Just Walk Out’ tech, use of plastic, and destruction of deadstock – it wouldn’t be surprising to find out it’s partnering with similar factories.

Unfortunately, it seems like society’s addiction to cheap, plastic, and unnecessary items is about to be facilitated by yet another wildly popular beast.