Amazon.com Inc. officially launched its retail operations in Australia on Dec. 5, ending long-time speculation over its debut date.
The global retailer is offering free shipping nationwide for purchases over A$49, and is selling "millions of products" in more than a dozen categories such as clothing, electronics, toys, cosmetics, stationery, home improvement and video games, according to amazon.com.au.
Under the free delivery offer, estimated shipping time is as short as three business days in major cities such as Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra and Perth, while it could take 10 business days or more for more remote areas.
Customers can also pay a fee, ranging from A$5.99 to A$19.99, to cut delivery time to as short as one business day.
Amazon has one warehouse in the Melbourne suburb of Dandenong South, after entering the market with the introduction of Amazon Web Services in 2012 and a Kindle store through amazon.com.au in 2013.
Industry experts expect the e-commerce giant to encounter challenges in Australia in logistics efficiency and from local retail majors with strong omnichannel capabilities.
As of 1 p.m. Sydney time on Dec. 5, shares of supermarket operator Woolworths Ltd. were down 0.02%, while department store chain Myer Holdings Ltd. was up 1.56%.
