Amazon officials rush to improve delivery speed as company loses two million customers while Chinese competitors, Temu and Shein, have seen nearly 57million new users

Amazon officials are rushing to improve delivery speed as the company loses millions of customers while Chinese competitors, Temu and Shein, gain popularity.

The $1.85 trillion company is showing greater concern over the competition posed by China-based rivals Temu and Shein, compared to its longstanding rivalry with Walmart and Target.

Temu and Shein, rapidly growing online retailers that specialize in cheap goods shipped directly from China, have made significant strides in the US market in under two years with evidence that they are already impacting Amazon's business.

Temu saw its user base grow to 51.4 million in January since its US launch in September 2022, while Shein experienced an increase to 26 million users during the same period, up from 20.9 million, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Conversely, Amazon's user numbers declined to 67 million from 69.6 million over the same timeframe, according to data from Sensor Tower cited in the report.

Temu and Shein, rapidly growing online retailers that specialize in cheap goods shipped directly from China , have made significant strides in the US market in under two years with evidence that they are already impacting Amazon's business

Temu saw its user base grow to 51.4m in January since its US launch in September 2022, while Shein experienced an increase to 26m users during the same period, up from 20.9m

To tackle this competition, Amazon insiders say they are focusing on two aspects of the business: customer trust and fast delivery

To tackle this competition, Amazon insiders say they are focusing on two aspects of the business: customer trust and fast delivery.

Amazon is devising strategies to promote its reliability and fast delivery, as well as working to increase same-day delivery.

An Amazon spokeswoman said the company watches competitors but staff 'obsess over customers,' as reported by the WSJ. 

The company emphasized its superior selection and faster delivery compared to other retailers, highlighting its achievement of delivering more than 4 billion items the same or next day to Prime members in the US alone in 2023.

Employees are striving to expand the range of items available for same-day delivery, especially in categories like electronics.

Josh Lowitz, co-founder of Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, pointed out the considerable volume required to justify its infrastructure.

'Amazon's logistics are unapproachable,' said Lowitz. 'You have to have a whole lot of volume to justify the infrastructure Amazon has, so it's going to take a long time for anyone to compete with Amazon on reliable convenience.' 

Amazon is devising strategies to promote its reliability and fast delivery, as well as working to increase same-day delivery

The company emphasized its superior selection and faster delivery compared to other retailers

In July 2023, TikTok launched an e-commerce business to sell goods made in China direct to consumers in the US from within its mobile app. 

The effort will see it operate warehouses in China, where it will store and ship domestically-manufactured merchandise directly to customers.

In doing so, it will be taking on hugely successful but controversial Chinese online retailers Shein and Temu, which sell cheap clothes, toys, electronics and household items.

But TikTok hopes to eclipse those companies by leveraging its existing userbase and marketing directly to its more than one billion global users while they browse the app.

The new venture is separate from the company's existing and somewhat failing TikTok Shop Shopping Center, which allows users and third-parties to list their own items for sale on the platform, with TikTok acting as the middle-man.

Shein is the biggest ultra-fast-fashion brand in the world, a multibillion-pound Chinese company that is feared and envied in equal measure. 

Shein is the biggest ultra-fast-fashion brand in the world, a multibillion-pound Chinese company that is feared and envied in equal measure. (Pictured: Anna Vakili attends the SHEIN VIP party at Creamfields festival)

In July 2023, TikTok launched an e-commerce business to sell goods made in China direct to consumers in the US from within its mobile app

In launching the new venture it will be taking on controversial Chinese online retailers Shein and Temu

Using teams of designers and complex algorithms that seek out micro-trends on social media, it can have fresh styles on sale in less than a week. Shein posts more than 6,000 new products on its website every day. 

In 2018, Shein's annual revenue was reportedly over 2 billion; by last year, shipping to more than 150 countries, that had increased eightfold. The company is now valued at nearly 70 billion, according to financial analyst Bloomberg.

The company is based in Singapore but its suppliers are located in Guangzhou, a city 100km north of Hong Kong. 

Shein is owned by Chinese entrepreneur Chris Xu, 39, a recluse who doesn't do interviews. Xu studied at Qingdao University of Science and Technology and set up Shein in 2008. 

According to a 2021 analysis of the business by The Economist, Shein's success can be put down to 'a turbocharged version of the fast-fashion formula of offering a constantly updated range of garments at bargain-basement prices.