The news: Amazon rolled out its standalone low-cost shopping app, Amazon Bazaar, in 14 markets including Argentina, Hong Kong, Nigeria, and Qatar, with more launches coming in the months ahead.

• The app features “hundreds of thousands” of products, most priced under $10, across fashion, home, and lifestyle categories.
• It offers free shipping on orders that meet local minimums and standard delivery fees for smaller purchases. Deliveries typically arrive within two weeks.

The context: Despite its name, Bazaar is essentially the same app as Amazon Haul—the Temu-like shopping experience Amazon launched in November 2024 to counter low-cost rivals. Amazon says the Bazaar branding helps it better reflect local languages and cultural preferences.

• The platform currently operates under the Haul name in eight markets—including the US, UK, Germany, and Japan—and as Bazaar in Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.
• Like Temu, it incorporates interactive features like social lucky draws and promotions

Why is this happening? Amazon is leaning on international markets to drive growth.

• In Belgium and the Netherlands, for example, the company plans to invest over €2.4 billion ($2.8 billion) in the next three years to bolster both its retail and AWS operations.
• At the same time, by offering a standalone budget-focused platform, Amazon is looking to attract a broader swath of consumers by taking direct aim at competitors such as Shein, Temu, and TikTok Shop.

Our take: Bazaar could help Amazon expand deeper into emerging markets by appealing to shoppers who are laser-focused on price. But the real challenge may not be generating demand, but making the model sustainable. As more countries tighten import rules and scrap de minimis loopholes, Amazon’s low-cost experiment could hit more roadblocks than its local rivals.

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