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

Anusuya Lahiri

May 25, 2023 at 11:03 AM·1 min read

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.
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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.
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