Amazon’s strategy to compete with Shein and Temu is a Trojan horse. As these platforms gain market share, Amazon responds by allowing Chinese factories to sell generic, unbranded products directly to consumers, bypassing brands. This means your product will be displayed next to cheaper alternatives, creating a price disadvantage. Faster delivery convenience won’t offset this discrepancy.

To compete, you must establish yourself in a higher-priced tier by focusing on:

Marketing and SEO: Essential to attract and retain customers.

Product Quality: Which is fundamental to justify higher prices.

And Product Uniqueness: Which nullifies competitors, at least until they can copy your product.

Now, with only 9% of US consumers considered brand loyal, traditional marketing and SEO are necessary but not sufficient. Product innovation is crucial. This goes beyond the usual product research, minor tweaks and private labeling. Local brands must engage in deeper, more substantial forms of innovation to thrive against low-cost imports.

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