Amazon will shutter part of its China e-commerce operations to focus on cross-border sales
- Back in 2015, Amazon China launched its global store service to enable Chinese users to buy goods directly from markets outside China
Amazon will make “operational adjustments” to its China business to focus more on cross-border sales amid stiff competition from domestic operators in the world’s largest e-commerce market.
The US e-commerce giant said on Thursday it would stop providing services to third-party merchants on its domestic market place from July 18.
“Over the past few years, we have been evolving our China online retail business to increasingly emphasise cross-border sales, and in return we’ve seen very strong response from Chinese customers. Their demand for high-quality, authentic goods from around the world continues to grow rapidly, and given our global presence, Amazon is well-positioned to serve them,” Amazon said in a statement.
The move was first reported by Reuters, which cited people familiar with the situation saying the US tech giant would withdraw its domestic marketplace from China by mid-July and shift its focus to selling overseas goods and cloud services in China.
An Amazon spokeswoman did not confirm that the market place would be closed, only that support to third party merchants would be withdrawn.
