Compete With Amazon & Temu: Local SEO That Works

Cheap as Chips’ collapse kicked off a familiar argument: “We were taken down by Temu and Amazon.” I get why that story spreads—it’s tidy, it has villains, and it excuses a lot.

But if you’re an Australian small business owner, the more useful question isn’t “Were the global giants responsible?” It’s: what conditions make a local retailer fragile when price-first marketplaces turn up the volume? Because those conditions show up long before liquidation does.

This post sits in our Australian Small Business Marketing series for a reason. The lesson here isn’t that discount retail is doomed. The lesson is that marketing is no longer optional infrastructure. If your discovery, trust, and repeat business rely on foot traffic alone, you’re operating like it’s 2012 while your customers shop like it’s 2026.

Were Amazon and Temu “to blame”? Not in the way people think

Answer first: Amazon and Temu didn’t invent price competition; they scaled it, sped it up, and made it constant. The real risk for local retailers is relying on a value proposition that can be copied in a scroll.

Cheap as Chips’ co-founder publicly pointed to “substantial, growing and aggressive” competition from Temu and Amazon. That’s not a crazy observation. When a shopper can compare prices in seconds, the middle ground disappears.

Here’s what the “Temu/Amazon killed us” narrative often hides:

• If your main promise is “cheap”, someone will always be cheaper. Global marketplaces can subsidise shipping, buy attention at scale, and run margin-thin offers longer than most SMEs can tolerate.
• If customers can’t find you online, you effectively don’t exist for high-intent searches. “Party supplies near me”, “school stationery [suburb]”, “storage containers [city]” are purchases people make fast—usually via Google.
• If you don’t collect first-party customer data, every sale starts from zero. Marketplaces own the relationship; local businesses need to.

My stance: blaming marketplaces is emotionally satisfying, but operationally useless. The actionable move is building a moat that isn’t price.

Why discount retail is under pressure in Australia (and what that means for SMEs)

Answer first: Discount retail isn’t failing; undifferentiated discount retail is failing. Australians still buy “cheap and cheerful”—they just expect it to be searchable, convenient, and trustworthy.

A few realities shaping 2026 buying behaviour:

Shipping expectations have permanently shifted

Amazon normalised “why would I drive there?” Temu normalised “why would I pay that much?” Even when customers prefer local, the bar for convenience is higher.

For small retailers, this doesn’t mean you must match global shipping speeds. It means you must be clear, fast, and confident about:

• Click-and-collect timeframes
• Local delivery zones and fees
• Returns process
• Stock availability (accurate, not wishful)

Search has become the new high street

More buyers start with Google (or Maps), not a shopping centre walk-through. That’s why local SEO is now a survival skill, not a “nice-to-have.”

If your business doesn’t show up in the map pack for your category and suburb, you’re invisible precisely when customers are ready to spend.

Trust signals matter more when price is low

Cheap products attract scepticism. People ask: Is this safe? Will it break? What if it doesn’t arrive?

Local businesses can win here—if they present themselves properly online.

The real competitive edge: be the obvious local choice

Answer first: You beat marketplaces by owning three things they struggle with locally: immediacy, confidence, and community.

Amazon and Temu are great at breadth and price. They’re weaker at “today”, “near me”, “speak to a human”, and “I know this shop.”

Here’s what I’ve found works consistently for small businesses competing against giant platforms:

1) Build a “local intent” funnel (not a broad awareness funnel)

If your marketing is trying to reach everyone, it usually reaches no one. Focus on people already looking.

High-intent local searches to target:

• “[product] near me”
• “[product] [suburb]”
• “open now” + category
• “same day” + category
• “click and collect” + category

Create pages and content that match those intents. Don’t rely on one generic homepage.

2) Win the “last kilometre” with service and clarity

Marketplaces are frictionless until something goes wrong. That’s your opening.

Make these visible across your site and Google Business Profile:

• Click-and-collect promise: “Ready in 2 hours” (only if true)
• Local delivery: “$8 within 8km, delivered Mon–Sat”
• Returns: “30-day returns in-store, no fuss”
• Product reassurance: short videos, simple safety notes, real photos

A blunt truth: Most small business websites hide the information that closes the sale. Put it everywhere.

3) Use range strategy: fewer SKUs, stronger reasons

Trying to match Temu’s endless catalogue is a trap. Instead:

• Curate “best sellers for locals”
• Bundle for convenience (“back-to-school pack”, “party pack”, “moving house kit”)
• Promote seasonal solutions (January is prime time for school, organising, and summer events)

In early January, Australians are buying:

• Back-to-school stationery and lunch gear
• Storage and organising products
• BBQ, picnic, and summer entertaining supplies
• Workwear basics for returning schedules

Make those categories prominent, searchable, and easy to buy.

Local SEO checklist: what to fix this month

Answer first: Local SEO is mostly about doing the basics better than everyone else—consistently.

Google Business Profile (GBP): non-negotiable

If you only do one thing, do this.

• Choose the right primary category (don’t guess—check competitors)
• Add secondary categories that reflect real revenue drivers
• Upload real photos weekly (storefront, aisles, staff, best sellers)
• Use Products in GBP with prices and short descriptions
• Post updates (promotions, seasonal ranges, events)
• Turn on messaging if you can respond fast

Goal: show up for local searches and convert in the map results without forcing a website click.

Reviews: the closest thing to “free advertising” you’ll ever get

Marketplaces have thousands of reviews; you need enough reviews, and you need them on Google.

Practical target:

• Aim for 10 new Google reviews per month if you’re under 200 total.

How to do it without being awkward:

• Put a review QR code on receipts and at the counter
• Send a short SMS after purchase (if you have consent)
• Train staff to ask when the customer is happiest (right after finding the item)

Reply to reviews. Even the short ones. It signals the business is alive.

Location pages that actually rank

If you serve multiple suburbs, you need pages that match how people search.

Create:

• One page per suburb/service area where you have real presence
• One page per high-margin category + suburb (“party supplies in [suburb]”)

Each page should include:

• 3–5 best-selling products in that category
• Parking/public transport notes
• Click-and-collect details
• A few real photos
• FAQs that match customer questions

Technical basics that quietly matter

You don’t need a fancy website. You need a functional one.

• Mobile speed that doesn’t punish users
• Clear navigation (categories people actually use)
• Accurate stock indicators (even if it’s “call to confirm”)
• Schema for LocalBusiness (your developer can implement quickly)

Content that converts: stop posting, start answering

Answer first: The best content for small business marketing is content that removes purchase anxiety.

Instead of generic social posts, publish useful pages and short articles that answer:

• “What size storage tub fits under a standard bed?”
• “What do I need for a kid’s birthday party for 20 guests?”
• “Which stationery items are required for Year 3 in NSW/VIC?”

This content does three jobs at once:

1. Helps you rank for long-tail searches
2. Builds trust fast
3. Gives you material for social, email, and in-store signage

If you want a simple workflow:

1. Ask staff: “What do customers ask 10 times a week?”
2. Turn each question into one page
3. Add product links and a clear call-to-action

“People also ask” (quick answers small retailers need)

Can a small business compete with Amazon on price?

Not sustainably. Compete on availability today, local trust, curated bundles, service, and clear policies. Price match only on selected “known value items” if it makes sense.

Is Temu taking customers from local stores?

Yes, especially for impulse buys and low-consideration items. The counter is positioning your store as the fast, reliable, local option with easy pickup and real support.

What’s the fastest marketing move with the biggest impact?

For most Australian SMEs: optimise Google Business Profile + implement a review system + publish 5 high-intent local pages. That combination drives calls, directions, and sales quickly.

The lesson from Cheap as Chips: don’t outsource your demand to foot traffic

Cheap as Chips’ collapse is being talked about as a discount retail story. For small business owners, it’s really a demand generation story.

If your business only works when people stumble across you, you’re one competitor, one rent rise, or one behaviour shift away from trouble. Local SEO and digital marketing aren’t “digital projects.” They’re how customers decide where to buy.

If you want a practical next step, do this in the next seven days:

1. Audit your Google Business Profile (categories, photos, products, hours)
2. Get 10 new reviews using a QR code + a simple ask
3. Publish one “[category] in [suburb]” page with click-and-collect details

The question worth sitting with is simple: if a customer searches “[what you sell] near me” right now, would Google and your website make you the obvious choice?