China’s e-commerce giant AliExpress continues to face ongoing controversies in the domestic market, with persistent debates surrounding the sale of counterfeit products and product quality.
According to industry sources on Jan. 23, the Chinese cross-border e-commerce platform AliExpress has recently accelerated its efforts to expand sales by increasing the inclusion of domestic brand products on its platform.
Even with domestic product shipments, however, AliExpress faces a competitive disadvantage in comparison to the domestic e-commerce industry as its delivery times can be up to three days, falling short of the “same-day delivery” services offered by local competitors.
AliExpress has penetrated the market by selling consumer goods at significantly lower prices compared to domestic e-commerce platforms. Although it initially promoted a delivery time of five days for cross-border products, it has recently extended the delivery period to seven days without prior customer notice, resulting in customer dissatisfaction.
In particular, even for domestic shipments taking up to 3 days, AliExpress is reportedly considering the establishment of domestic logistics centers to enable “same-day delivery” and enhance their services.
Nevertheless, a growing number of customers opts for AliExpress due to its affordable product prices. However, the ongoing controversies, such as shipping delays, the prevalence of counterfeit products, and quality issues, remain challenges that the platform needs to address.
Despite AliExpress holding a press conference in December last year, announcing measures to prevent the sale of counterfeit products and investing 10 billion won (US$7.47 million) to protect customers and intellectual property rights, counterfeit items are still easily accessible on the platform.
Especially noteworthy are the reviews mentioning receiving products different from those depicted in the product descriptions. Recently, there has also been controversy regarding the platform displaying discriminatory pricing for products based on individual consumers.