Amazon to stop providing services to third-party merchants in China: Report
Amazon has said it will shut its China online store by July 18, as the company plans to focus on its other businesses of selling overseas goods and cloud services to Chinese consumers, according to a report.
Amazon did not confirm whether the entire marketplace would be closed, Reuters said, or whether only third-party merchants on its Chinese platform would be affected.
Amazon's e-commerce business in China is facing tremendous pressure from local online marketplace operators, including Alibaba, JD.com, as well as the fast-growing Pinduoduo, which have been dominating the market.
Agency data suggested that Alibaba owns 58.2% of China's e-commerce market in terms of sales, followed by JD.com's 16.3% and Pinduoduo's 5.2%, according to a Sina report in July 2018.
Amazon China was in seventh position, with only 0.7% market share, according to research data firm eMarketer.
Third-party merchants on Amazon's Chinese platform have not yet received any notice from the US e-commerce giant about these changes, according to Chinese media. But some local news said Amazon China held an internal meeting on Thursday morning, during which the company thanked all employees for their hard work and contributions, and officially announced the company's business adjustments and layoff plans.
Apart from its cross-border shopping services, the US company will continue to invest and promote other businesses in China including Kindle sales and cloud computing businesses, said the local reports.
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