Amazon unveils international shopping app

Amazon has launched an “international shopping experience” through an app which allows customers worldwide to browse and ship more than 45 million products from the US.

The Amazon Shopping App is offered across mobile devices in five languages, including English, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, German, and Brazilian Portuguese, altogether offering customers the ability to buy books, electronics, clothing, shoes and toys across 25 currencies.

Amazon said the app will make it "easier than ever for customers to get the best of Amazon and shop with ease in their local currency", according to a spokesperson for the e-retail giant.

"We are always innovating on behalf of our customers, and with today's launch, we are making the shopping experience on mobile devices even better and more convenient for our customers who live outside the US," said Samir Kumar, v.p. of Amazon exports and expansion. "Customers have been asking for a way to easily find and shop only for products available to be shipped to them."

The announcement comes a week after fears over the company’s approach to territoriality. At the time The Bookseller was told that the increased occurrences of international editions on Amazon’s Global Store suggests Amazon is not respecting local rights-based publishing. Publishers have complained the retailer is “slow” to remove listings of US editions which increasingly appearing on Amazon.co.uk. Additionally, there are concerns that a possible change to intellectual property law post-Brexit could remove safeguards against publishers’ export editions being resold in the UK.

At the beginning of this month, President Donald Trump attacked the online store on social media, accusing it of not being on a "level playing field" with “fully tax paying retailers”. The tweets led to its share price www.thebookseller.com/news/trump-and-amazon-762416">dropping 5% to $1,372.