Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is teaming up with a Chinese upstart to boost Black Friday sales. The US e-commerce giant is banking on the smartphone app popular for cheap deals to entice consumers during Black Friday sale. The collaboration could also extend to the end of the year.
Amazon opens storefront on Pinduoduo
The company’s cross-border unit has unveiled a storefront on Pinduoduo Inc. (NASDAQ:PDD). Pinduoduo is the third-largest online retailer in China behind Alibaba Holding (NYSE:BABA) and JD.com Inc. (NASDAQ:JD). Amazon and Pinduoduo partnership will continue until the end of December.
Black Friday sales will commence on November 28 and will run for three days. They will offer consumers a variety of overseas products ranging from Nintendo Switch consoles to luxury watches and Australian Baby formula. Already there are some pre-sales ongoing for the yearly annual extravaganza.
Amazon has indicated that the storefront will offer around 1,000 branded foreign products. Chinese consumers spend a lot during shopping festivals. They will thus be ready to take advantage of purchasing foreign products during Black Friday. The partnership will help Amazon capitalize on the more than half a billion annual active buyers using the app to get cheap deals.
Amazon closed its Chinese Marketplace business
Amazon closed its marketplace business in China in July in what is a typical case of how US companies struggle to keep up with Chinese competitors. However, the company still runs other businesses in China, such as Kindle e-books. Kindle has flagship stores on Pinduoduo, JD, and Alibaba’s Tmall.
This comes at the back of Alibaba’s Singles Day Promotion held on November 11. The event has surpassed Black Friday, becoming the largest shopping event. Alibaba reported a record $38 billion in sales in the 24-hour shopping event. Pinduoduo and JD equally launched similar shopping extravaganzas around the date.
After reporting worse than expected Q3 earnings that triggered a share drop, the move to partner with Amazon to offer branded foreign products give PDD a chance to bounce back.
