AliExpress Triples Investment In US, Korea, Latin America

AliExpress has named the United States, South Korea, and Latin America as its three priority markets for 2026, backing that focus with investment increases of two to three times last year's spending, according to a policy briefing reported by Ebrun titled “2026 Must-Win Cross-Border Markets.” The move signals a narrower, more concentrated growth strategy than the platform's earlier approach of spreading resources across many regions at once, and it puts AliExpress in the same conversation as Temu's rapid climb toward roughly a quarter of global cross-border ecommerce share, another Chinese platform pouring fresh investment into markets outside Asia.

The US site has already shown results from the added investment. GMV grew more than 50 percent year over year during AliExpress's May promotional period, and new merchant registrations jumped 120 percent over the same stretch, based on figures from the same report. That combination, rising sales alongside a surge in new sellers, suggests the platform is pulling in supply and demand simultaneously rather than growing one side faster than the other.

AliExpress US GMV Grows 50% as Merchant Registrations Surge 120%

South Korea's addition to AliExpress's Brand+ program marks a shift in how the platform courts established brands rather than individual sellers. Brand+ gives participating companies tools for global expansion, and its extension to Korean brands puts them on the same track AliExpress has used to bring international labels onto the platform in other regions.

The investment in South Korea centers on a few areas that shape how quickly the market can scale:

• Deeper local seller support to help Korean brands list and manage inventory
• Logistics infrastructure aimed at cutting delivery times within the region
• Localized operations teams to manage the market day to day

Details on Korea-specific GMV growth remain limited compared to the US figures, but the market's inclusion alongside two much larger regions points to AliExpress treating it as a strategic priority rather than an incremental add-on.

Brazil's Tax Removal Drives a 40% Jump in AliExpress Orders

The clearest immediate impact of AliExpress's 2026 push shows up in Brazil. After the Brazilian government suspended its federal import tax on international parcels valued under $50, AliExpress saw order volume in the country climb more than 40 percent month over month. Chile added a separate tailwind, implementing a 0 percent tariff on goods under $500, which widens the opening for cross-border sellers targeting South America's two largest consumer markets outside Brazil.

That tax relief will not last indefinitely. The Brazilian measure is set to expire on September 8, 2026, and reporting from the Rio Times notes that the 20 percent “taxa das blusinhas” returns automatically if Congress does not extend it. Sellers leaning into Brazil's current order surge should treat the window as temporary rather than a permanent shift in the market's cost structure.

AliExpress is directing its added Latin American investment toward three areas: logistics infrastructure, localized operations, and expanded seller support. The stated goal is a meaningful cut to delivery times across the region's key markets, an upgrade that would matter most in Brazil given the scale of demand already flowing through the platform there.

What AliExpress's 2026 Market Push Means for Sellers

AliExpress's concentrated bet on three markets gives sellers a clearer signal about where the platform expects growth, and a few practical moves follow from that.

• Register or expand US listings now, since the 120 percent jump in new merchant registrations suggests competition for buyer attention will only intensify
• Watch the Brazilian tax deadline closely if selling into Latin America, and price in the possibility of the 20 percent duty returning after September 8
• Consider Chile as a secondary Latin American market, given its 0 percent tariff threshold on goods under $500 offers more room than Brazil's $50 cap
• Track how Brand+ eligibility expands beyond South Korea, since the program's structure may extend to other markets AliExpress adds to its priority list later in the year

The scale of AliExpress's investment increase, two to three times last year's level, points to a platform trying to convert short-term promotional spikes into durable market share before policy windows like Brazil's tax suspension close. Sellers weighing whether to expand their AliExpress presence have a narrow but active opportunity in front of them, particularly in markets where the platform is directing fresh logistics and seller support spending right now.