Alibaba Gets Better of Amazon: US Ecommerce Giant Prepares To Shut China App Store Amid Rivalry and Regulatory Headwinds

Author: Anusuya Lahiri | May 25, 2023 09:03am

• Amazon.Com, Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) looks to close its official app store in China on July 17, following plans to shut down its Kindle e-book service in 2022.
• The company also prepared to discontinue its Amazon Appstore, launched in 2011 as an alternative to Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google for Android phone users to install apps and games, SCMP reports. The company did not provide any reason for the closure.
• Also Read: Microsoft's LinkedIn Slashes 716 Jobs Under Its China Strategy
• However, its official shopping site Amazon.cn, and other services like Amazon Global Selling, Amazon Global Store, and cloud unit Amazon Web Services (AWS) will remain operational.
• China's data and privacy regulations and fierce competition from local players made it difficult for foreign businesses to operate in the leading internet service market.
• However, Amazon's Appstore, operating since 2011, can still be used in mainland China without a VPN, unlike banned U.S. apps like Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) Facebook, and Twitter Inc.
• Amazon trailed in popularity among all e-commerce platforms in China, far behind the top three Alibaba Group Holding Limited's (NYSE:BABA) Taobao, JD.Com, Inc (NASDAQ:JD), and short video app Douyin.
• Price Action: AMZN shares traded lower by 0.25% at $115.46 premarket on the last check Thursday.
• Photo by Body Stock and Dragon Claws via Shutterstock

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