Amazon to close online store in China after failing to compete

The world's largest online retailer has announced it will close its China store by 18 July.

Amazon might be a global giant run by the world's richest man Jeff Bezos, but it struggled to compete with its Chinese rivals.

JD.com and Alibaba controlled 82% of the Chinese e-commerce market last year, according to iResearch Global.

A spokeswoman for US-based Amazon said it would no longer operate a marketplace or provide sellers on amazon.cn.

She added: "We are working closely with our sellers to ensure a smooth transition and to continue to deliver the best customer experience possible.

"Sellers interested in continuing to sell on Amazon outside of China are able to do so through Amazon Global Selling."

This means people in China can still use the firm's online stores in other countries.

Ker Zheng, marketing specialist at Shenzhen-based e-commerce consultancy Azoya, said Amazon had no major competitive advantage in China.

He said that, unless someone wanted a specific imported good they could not get elsewhere, "there's no reason for a consumer to pick Amazon because they're not going to be able to ship things as fast as [Alibaba's] Tmall or JD".

But even Alibaba and JD.com are experiencing tougher conditions in China: Alibaba recently reported its slowest quarterly earnings growth since 2016 and JD.com has announced job cuts.

Amazon will continue to invest in China through its Amazon Global Store, Global Selling, Kindle e-readers and online content, the company's spokeswoman said.

Amazon Web Services, which sells data storage and computing power to enterprises, will also remain.