Author | Huang Yu Editor | Liu Baodan Last year, thanks to the success of the "Speeding" on iQiyi, the company has had a difficult time recently. On the one hand, the explosively popular TV series is on hiatus, and on the other hand, the derivative concert of the variety show "Plant Some Goodness" has been criticized for "free offline but paid online." According to Wall Street News, the second Wheat Field Music Festival, produced by iQiyi's reality show "Plant Some Goodness," was held on June 6th. Some viewers had previously received free offline tickets through official activities, while online viewers, even iQiyi members, had to pay RMB 12 for viewing, and the viewing period was valid until June 14th. This differentiated pricing model has caused dissatisfaction among many viewers, who question that iQiyi's move is "cutting corners." In response, iQiyi's customer service said, "You can buy tickets to watch the concert live according to your own needs, and the edited content of the concert will be launched on the main platform in the future." In fact, this is not the first time that long video platforms represented by iQiyi have been accused of "cutting corners." In recent years, membership grading systems, early access, and inventory restrictions have often caused user backlash, in addition to paying extra for derivative programs. The differential pricing model reflects the growth anxiety faced by long-form video platforms such as "i优腾."

In today's weather is good. Today's weather is good.

More than a decade ago, international e-commerce giant amazon faced fierce competition from local Chinese e-commerce companies such as taobao and jd.com, and gradually retreated, ultimately closing its domestic e-commerce business in china in 2019.

However, amazon could not rest easy in the international e-commerce market for too long. After nearly two years of rapid growth, pdd holdings' TEMU has become the second largest e-commerce platform in global traffic, and it is expected that its user count will surpass amazon's within the year.

TEMU is making significant progress and is now targeting amazon's core market. According to Wall Street news, TEMU is expanding its local supplier strategy in the usa and europe, while also considering adopting a third-party platform model to attract more merchants, leveraging its all-managed operations.

Amazon's global e-commerce dominance is under threat. Since the second half of this year, amazon has officially sounded the horn for a counterattack, and its low stock price store Amazon Haul has recently been launched on mobile.

The trend from the past year indicates that TEMU and amazon are imitating each other and deeply infiltrating each other's territories, which means this "battle" has entered a phase of close confrontation.

The new round of offensive and defensive battles in the global e-commerce industry is intensifying, with both pioneers and disruptors fully engaged, and the competitive landscape of the global e-commerce market will be thoroughly rewritten. There is no turning back in this battle; everyone must do their utmost, or they may become the defeated under the alternating rise and fall.

A countdown has begun for the contest to be the king of overseas e-commerce.

Intense.

The competition between TEMU and amazon has become increasingly intense over the past six months. Both sides are trying to attract more merchants from each other.

In June of this year, amazon held a closed-door seller recruitment meeting in Shenzhen, revealing information about an upcoming new project called "low-priced store." This move has been interpreted by the outside world as a forced counterattack by amazon in response to the strong impact from TEMU and others, and it is currently seen as the most significant measure taken.

Cross-border e-commerce expert Lin Zhiyong pointed out to Wall Street News that previously, amazon attempted to distance itself from TEMU and Shein by promising fast shipping to hold the line, encouraging Chinese merchants to use US warehousing and distribution services more. As part of the emergency response strategy, amazon also significantly reduced the fees charged to merchants selling outfits priced below 20 dollars.

The newly launched low-priced store Amazon Haul began opening to some customers in the usa on November 13, with all products priced at 20 dollars or below, focusing on affordable fashion, furniture, and daily necessities, with prices generally below 10 dollars, and offering free return services.

It is reported that the commodities sold on Amazon Haul are mostly small home goods from Yiwu priced at no more than $7, fashionable accessories for no more than $5, and many 3C products similar to those from Huaqiangbei, which are also important categories for TEMU, Shein, and others.

This also means that compared to the past, Amazon now needs the support of Chinese white label merchants more than ever, which is a key treasure for the rise of pdd holdings and TEMU.

Against this backdrop, Amazon has significantly increased its recruitment efforts in China since last year. For example, after three years and nine months, Amazon resumed its seller recruitment conference in Shenzhen at the end of last year - the 2023 Amazon Global Store Cross-Border Summit, and opened Amazon's overall supply chain solution to Chinese sellers.

In addition, this year Amazon has established new locations in Wuhan and other cities in China, and held more seminars targeted at sellers. Meanwhile, on November 8, Amazon's first innovation center for the Asia-Pacific region officially opened in Qianhai International Talent Port in Shenzhen, aiming to attract more Chinese e-commerce sellers to join its platform.

On the same day as the opening of Amazon's innovation center, TEMU employees set up a recruitment sign downstairs, and the major sellers invited to Amazon's opening ceremony were asked if they wanted to settle on TEMU. Interestingly, many departments of TEMU have also relocated from Guangzhou to Qianhai International Talent Port in Shenzhen this year.

In addition to 'grabbing talent' domestically, TEMU has also entered Amazon's territory and continuously increased its operational intensity.

For the past six months, TEMU has consistently been recruiting American merchants, but merchants could only join if they had a special invitation code; however, starting in November, TEMU lowered the entry threshold for merchants, allowing any American brand or individual seller to register and sell on TEMU.

A spokesperson for TEMU stated in an email that TEMU is opening its doors to local American sellers. Sellers can now ship directly from American warehouses and deliver products to customers in as little as one business day.

Outside the usa market, TEMU's localization strategy continues to advance. On December 3, news surfaced that TEMU is actively recruiting new sellers from the united kingdom, aiming to accelerate its expansion in the united kingdom market.

In addition to increasing its recruitment efforts, TEMU has also started to diversify its operation models. Unlike last year, when there was only a fully managed model, TEMU launched a semi-managed model at the beginning of this year, and recent news indicates that it is considering introducing a third-party platform model, where merchants can independently select products, set prices, and open stores, shipping overseas while the platform charges a trade commission.

The third-party platform model is precisely the focus that amazon has emphasized over the past five years, helping its GMV grow from 335 billion dollars in 2019 to over 700 billion dollars by the end of 2023. Now, third-party sellers contribute more than 60% of the GMV on the amazon platform.

As amazon adopts low prices, TEMU is pushing its third-party platform. Clearly, as competition becomes increasingly fierce, both TEMU and amazon are beginning to unreservedly learn each other's 'killer tricks,' becoming more and more like one another.

Sprint

In the past two years, the strong rise of Chinese cross-border e-commerce platforms like TEMU has made amazon realize that its position as the global e-commerce leader is not unshakable.

According to data released by SimilarWeb in October, TEMU, just two years after its launch, has successfully surpassed ebay, becoming the second most visited e-commerce website in the world, second only to amazon.

Additionally, according to data from Sensor Tower, in August, the number of users of the TEMU APP ranked third among major e-commerce platforms, reaching 91% of the user base of amazon. At this rate, TEMU's user count is expected to surpass that of amazon, which has been established for 30 years, within the year.

Relying on a low stock price strategy and the innovative "full custody model", TEMU crashed into the blue ocean of cross-border e-commerce like a catfish in 2022. According to statistics from Wall Street News, as of now, TEMU has already launched its business in 89 countries and regions globally, doubling the number from last year.

In the face of TEMU's aggressive momentum, a spokesperson for amazon once stated: "The company is always exploring new ways to collaborate with sales partners."

The launch of Amazon Haul was a direct response from amazon, which may help amazon maintain its position to some extent. Lin Zhiyong told Wall Street News that amazon's introduction of a low-priced store is bound to weaken the low-price advantages of TEMU, Shein, and others, thus reinforcing its own position.

In addition, TEMU itself is also facing increasing challenges.

Looking solely at revenue, the growth rate of the income contributed by TEMU to pdd holdings has already significantly slowed down. According to pdd holdings' financial report, in the third quarter of this year, the transaction service revenue primarily driven by TEMU grew by 72% year-on-year to 50 billion yuan, compared to growth rates of 327% and 234% in the previous two quarters.

During the Q3 earnings call, pdd holdings' executive director and co-CEO Zhao Jiazhen once again expressed a warning about TEMU's growth: "The competition faced by pdd holdings' global business is becoming increasingly fierce. This competition, combined with the complex external environment, will inevitably subject our business to some fluctuations and impacts."

As its scale rapidly expands, TEMU has raised the vigilance of regulators in various countries. Entering new markets not only means overcoming localization challenges but also dealing with external pressures such as investigations, tariffs, and bans influenced by geopolitical factors in different regions.

Against this backdrop, if TEMU wants to break the "shackles" of overseas development, it must strengthen its localization strategy. The semi-managed model launched earlier this year is an attempt by TEMU to meet more merchant needs by providing more diverse operational models.

Insiders close to TEMU revealed to Wall Street News that the semi-managed model allows TEMU to achieve faster speeds while maintaining a good price-quality ratio. In the future, if merchants' own capabilities strengthen, TEMU may give them more space and freedom.

This means that as TEMU introduces third-party platform models, it will have three models in the future: fully managed, semi-managed, and third-party platform, similar to the models adopted by amazon, Shein, and AliExpress.

"Following" is a path many enterprises choose when they encounter growth bottlenecks, but it often doesn't work well. For example, domestic platforms like Taobao and jd.com have learned from pdd holdings' strategies such as "refund only" and "low stock price," but ultimately chose to focus on their strengths.

The same story is now playing out in the global e-commerce market, with the difference being that everyone is actively stepping out of their comfort zones to find new breakthroughs. The rough phase of cross-border e-commerce platform expansion has ended, but who will be the ultimate winner remains uncertain.