Global e-commerce players under pressure amid China's "value for money" battle 

Analysts expect that discount e-commerce will take centre stage during upcoming holiday shopping season in West and China's Singles’ Day, reshaping global online shopping landscape.

In China, world's largest e-commerce market, a "value-for-money battle" has emerged, driven by economic uncertainty and a slower retail recovery following easing of COVID-19 restrictions late last year.

Meanwhile, fast-growing platforms like PDD Holdings' Temu and TikTok Shop, owned by Bytedance, have gained popularity in Souast Asia, North America, and Europe. se platforms offer inexpensive Chinese goods at a time when cost of living concerns are paramount.

Disruption in online shopping

China's reputation as a major exporter of consumer products has expanded to include its e-commerce marketplace dynamics, causing a significant disruption in online shopping worldwide.

Sharon Gai, former he of global key accounts at Alibaba and author of "E-commerce Reimagined," noted, "se marketplace dynamics that first emerged from China or were invented in China are now dominating Western world. Or online retailers are struggling to compete."

trend towards low-cost platforms is not occurring in isolation but is influenced by macroeconomic challenges such as economic uncertainty in China and inflation in United States and Europe, which are squeezing consumer spending.

Discount competitors 

Discount competitors like Pinduoduo, Douyin, Temu, and Shein are investing billions in subsidies and discounts to capture market share among consumers seeking affordable products.

Amazon is set to ramp up discounts during its "Prime Big Deal Days" on October 10–11.

battle for bottom is expected to intensify with entry of TikTok Shop, which will focus on Chinese-me goods in US, similar to success of Shein and Temu.

Indonesia is even considering banning e-commerce transactions on social media to protect offline merchants from potential flooding of market with cheap goods from TikTok Shop.

Rise of budget online retailers  

rise of budget online retailers globally is filling a void in low-cost e-commerce sector, which was previously dominated by platforms focused on selling higher-margin items to achieve profitability.

Tech analyst Rui Ma explained, "re was a clear vacuum for discount retailer online experience... re is still so much more room to grow in discount arena."

As discount online retailers gain market share, executives worldwide are grappling with pricing pressures. Trudy Dai, CEO of Taobao and Tmall Group, highlighted "value-for-money battle" as an area of major investment in Alibaba's latest quarterly earnings report.

(With Reuters Inputs)