AliExpress
Type of site
Online shopping
OwnerAlibaba Group
URLaliexpress.com
CommercialYes
Launched2010
Current statusActive
The second logo was used from 2015 to 2024
AliExpress self-service delivery station in Katowice, Poland, 2020
Aliexpress pavilion, Moscow Leningradsky railway station, 2016

AliExpress (Chinese: 全球速卖通) is an online retail service based in China and owned by the Alibaba Group.[1] Launched in 2010,[2][3] it is made up of small businesses in China and other locations, such as Singapore, that offer products to international online buyers. It is the most visited e-commerce website in Russia[4] and was the 10th most popular website in Brazil.[5] It facilitates small businesses to sell to customers all over the world. AliExpress has drawn comparison to eBay, as sellers are independent and use the platform to offer products to buyers.[6][7]

Business model

AliExpress started as a business-to-business buying and selling portal. It has since expanded to include business-to-consumer, consumer-to-consumer, cloud computing and payment services. As of 2016 AliExpress ran websites in English, Spanish, Korean, Dutch, French, Italian, German, Polish, Turkish, Portuguese, Indonesian, Russian, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, Japanese, Thai and other languages - English being the default offered to those countries with languages outside the preceding list.[8] AliExpress is often used by e-commerce stores that use a dropship business model.[9]

Sellers on AliExpress can be either companies or individuals. AliExpress is different from Amazon because it acts only as an e-commerce platform and does not itself sell products directly to consumers.[10] It directly connects Chinese businesses with buyers.

Although most of the retailers are Chinese, AliExpress is aimed at international import buyers and does not sell to customers in mainland China.[5] Customers in China use fellow Alibaba-subsidiary Taobao, because of its convenience in delivery and service, especially the payment method, Alipay. The site offers a popular affiliate marketing program where partners are rewarded with a commission on sales for sending visitors to the site.[citation needed]

Government responses

In November 2020, India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology banned the AliExpress mobile phone app along with 42 other Chinese apps.[11]

In 2022, the Office of the United States Trade Representative added AliExpress to its list of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy.[12][13]

In November 2023, the European Commission opened a probe into AliExpress regarding "potential dissemination of illegal products such as fake medicines, non-compliant food, and ineffective dietary supplements."[14]

References

  1. ^ "Can you tell me the diffrence [sic] between Alibaba and Aliexpress?". Help Center. Alibaba.com. Archived from the original on 9 January 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  2. ^ Dowsett, Sonya (3 March 2020). "Alibaba's AliExpress warns of possible coronavirus delays". U.S. Archived from the original on 2 March 2022. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  3. ^ "How a pandemic led the world to start shopping on Alibaba". Financial Times. 28 April 2020. Archived from the original on 13 April 2022. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  4. ^ Tsydenova, Nadezhda (10 July 2020). "AliExpress Russia eyes $10 billion turnover by 2022-2023, up an estimated 66%". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2 March 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  5. ^ a b Slater, Matt (18 December 2014). "What is Aliexpress?". China Checkup. Archived from the original on 14 August 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  6. ^ "Ebay vs Aliexpress - Which is better?". Top Reviews for You. 12 August 2017. Archived from the original on 2 August 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  7. ^ Hsiao, Aron. "ebay Versus AliExpress? Where You Should Be Shopping". The Balance Small Business. Archived from the original on 2 August 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  8. ^ "A Brief History of Jack Ma, Alibaba and AliExpress". Alixblog. 23 March 2016. Archived from the original on 14 August 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  9. ^ "The Definitive Guide to Dropshipping with AliExpress". Shopify. Archived from the original on 4 February 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  10. ^ "AliExpress Is Cheap, But Is It Safe to Shop There?". 4 December 2019. Archived from the original on 9 July 2019. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  11. ^ "AliExpress among 43 new Chinese apps banned in India: Check full list". The Indian Express. 25 November 2020. Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  12. ^ Singh, Kanishka (18 February 2022). "U.S. adds e-commerce sites operated by Tencent, Alibaba to 'notorious markets' list". Reuters. Archived from the original on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  13. ^ "USTR Releases 2021 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy". United States Trade Representative. Archived from the original on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  14. ^ "EU probes AliExpress over possibly illegal online products". Reuters. 14 March 2024. Retrieved 14 March 2024.

External links

Alibaba Group
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