Amazon Debuts Beijing Showroom

Amazon continues to focus efforts on expanding its market Chinese market to the nation of 1.38 billion. Last week, the online retail behemoth opened a showroom in Beijing’s popular shopping destination Sanlitun Square.

Reportedly designed to look like a giant Amazon shipping container, the new showroom showcases imported goods from Amazon’s U.S. and U.K. websites. Consumers can reportedly browse, test and consult experts on a wide and varied selection. Customers can also buy them from Amazon’s Chinese site by scanning a product’s barcode with their mobile devices.

This past summer, Amazon launched a Chinese-language version of its Japanese site and offered reduced shipping rates to mainland China. The goal is to cash in on the 2.34 trillion yen ($22.5 billion) Chinese consumers are projected to spend on Japanese eCommerce products in 2019, according to Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

The showroom reportedly features an area dedicated to Amazon’s Prime service, which debuted in China in late October this year. Chinese Prime customers enjoy free shipping on orders for products overseas with a minimum purchase of $29.50.

Goods that are sold in China will be shipped for free to Chinese Prime customers. Those with Prime pay $57 for their membership, which is lower than the $99 in the U.S. Deliveries in China take an average of five to nine days to complete.

Though Alibaba is still the Chinese staple for eCommerce — just look at this year’s Singles’ Day statistics — Amazon is the preferred marketplace for Chinese e-tailers when they want to sell their goods internationally. Amazon beats out Alibaba’s international marketplace, AliExpress, 62 percent to 40 percent.