According to iResearch China, Amazon only holds less than 1 percent in China's lucrative e-commerce market. (Photo : Getty Images)
Over a decade since it first set foot in the east, Amazon is still getting dominated in China, the region's largest market, Business Insider reported.
Though the e-commerce giant is easily associated with online shopping in the West, particularly in the United States, the firm remains to fail in conquering China's lucrative market currently dominated by the local company, Alibaba.
A report recently released by iResearch China shows that Amazon's market share in China's $ 378 billion-worth e-commerce sector is only less than one percent. This figure is much lesser than Tmall.com's 56.6 percent, even to rival JD.com's 24.7 percent.
Tmall.com is being run by Alibaba while JD.com, an aggressively growing rival, has Waltermart as one of its stakeholders.
Back in 2004, Amazon bought Joyo, which was China's biggest online bookseller at the time. In 2011, the firm rebranded itself as Amazon China. Since then, the company has been introducing various endeavors to grab a larger share in the eastern nation's fierce e-commerce market.
For instance, early last year, the Seattle-based company has expanded its logistics operations in China. The undertaking involved handling of cargos set for delivery to Japan's and U.S.'s ports. In late 2016, Amazon also made a limited edition of its Prime service.
Amazon has also been sending top officials to foster its Chinese operations.
Apart from China, the company has also set its goal to conquer the Indian market. Its first online stores for Indian customers were opened in 2013.
Nonetheless, the Western online retail giant earned the ire of Indians when it sold flip-flops bearing the image of Mahatma Gandhi earlier in January this year. Gandhi is revered in the country and is considered as the "Father of the Nation."
Prior to this, the firm received criticisms for selling doormats with the image of the Indian flag.
