Michelle ThompsonChinese online retailers Shein and Temu have alerted US customers that prices will increase starting next week, following President Donald Trump’s imposition of significant tariffs on Chinese imports.
Both companies issued nearly identical statements, explaining that rising operating costs due to recent changes in global trade rules and tariffs have led them to adjust prices, effective April 25.
The two shopping platforms have become popular in the US, attracting millions of customers with their extremely low prices. Their success has put pressure on Amazon, which launched a new platform called Haul in November, featuring items priced under $20 (£15.10).
Since taking office in January, Trump has imposed tariffs of up to 145% on Chinese imports, with some goods facing levies as high as 245% when combined with existing tariffs. He also ended a duty-free exemption for goods under $800, which had helped Shein and Temu quickly establish themselves in the US market. US lawmakers have raised concerns that these companies took advantage of this exemption.
In 2023, around 1.4 billion packages entered the US under this rule, up from 140 million in 2013, according to US customs data.
Since the tariffs began, Shein and Temu have seen a drop in their app rankings. Temu, once consistently in the top five most downloaded free apps on the US Apple Store, now ranks 75th. Shein has dropped to 58th from 15th place last month.
However, other Chinese retail apps remain popular in the US, such as DHgate in second place and Alibaba’s Taobao at number seven.
Both companies have also reduced their advertising spending in the US. Temu stopped running Google Shopping ads as of April 9, and its daily social media advertising spend fell by 31% in the two weeks leading up to April 13. Shein’s ad spend dropped by 19% in the same period.
In their statements, Shein and Temu urged customers to make purchases before the price increases take effect. They assured shoppers that they would continue to ensure smooth order deliveries while working to minimize the impact of the price changes.
Temu and Shein did not provide further comments when contacted by the BBC.
