When Donald Trump abolished in April of this year’s decree of duties for parcels from China worth less than $ 800, it was clear to whom she was addressing: The US President wanted to destroy Chinese companies cheap companies Ago and Shein.
Newspaper headlines prophesied that the Temu and Shein business model was at least dead in the US.
However, the current data from the Bloomberg Second Measures data provider, analyzed by the Handelsblatt newspaper, show a different picture.
Bloomberg analyzed billions of credit card transactions. Although this covers only part of the total turnover of retail work, it provides a representative picture of business evolution.
According to these figures, TMU’s turnover in the US presented a very hectic course during the first seven months of this year, but overall it was even higher than 6% compared to the same period last year.
Shein’s sales during the first seven months were even 14% higher than in the same period last year. In April, Shein even reached the highest monthly level that has been recorded to date.
At the global level, the success of Temu and Shein remains undiminished. According to the prestigious Chinese newspaper Late Post, the TMU platform’s worldwide turnover increased by 50% in the first half, reaching $ 35 billion. In the case of Shein, the gross volume increased by 15 to 20% over the same period, reaching $ 27 billion. Both traders do not comment on their sales details when asked.
“There is no decline that everyone was expecting,” confirms Nils SEEBACH, chief executive of the Etribes Digital Advice Company. However, sales were maintained at amazing good levels even in the US. These are the reasons:
1. Temu and Shein have completely restructured their business models
In general, US duties affect Temu and Shein quite hard. While both trading platforms have had high two -digit growth rates in the US over the last two years, their sales initially collapsed significantly at the beginning of this year.
In early February, Trump imposed an additional duty of ten percent on imports from China. At the same time, it announced the end of the so -called “de minimis rule”, which excluded tariff packages of less than $ 800. Temu and Shein responded with price increases, which initially led to a reduction in sales. The US government then temporarily revoked the end of the “de minimis rule” after a few days.
Donald Trump gave a major blow in April. He was permanently discharged from duties and drastically increased tariffs on goods from China – at times up to 145 percent.
However, Chinese retail platforms had already developed a B project. “They didn’t just take one meter, but twenty different.”
In the last two years, the success of TEMU has been based on the delivery of each shipment of an order by Chinese manufacturers separately to the end customer. This business model is no longer working.
2. Temu has warehouses in Los Angeles, Dallas and Newark
However, Temu began securing warehouses in the US last year through providers. At the beginning of the year, the company filled its warehouses in Los Angeles, Dallas and Newark with high demand shipments. Temu also opened its purchase to US retailers.
This allowed Temu to stop direct traditions from China in early May. All the products available at the USA store labeled “locally”, which does not mean that they were built in the US, but simply they were already stored there. This allowed Temu to slow down the US sales fall in June and return to growth in July.
Shein began to open its American platform to local sellers on the market in 2023. The company has a warehouses in California, Indiana and Pennsylvania.
This not only reduces delivery times, but also makes Shein less vulnerable to US customs policy than Temu. In July, platform sales data were again higher than in January.
It is known that Shein is increasingly working with Logistics service providers in the US and Europe. Companies such as Winit and Easy Export offer storage and delivery services for retailers in the Shein market.
In Germany, Shein has recently signed a cooperation agreement with Lufthansa Cargo to make the air transport of its products more viable using environmentally friendly fuel.
3. Shein attracts Amazon high -income retailers to its market
Marketplace Pulse market research company predicts that Shein will be able to attract many leading retailers from Amazon’s US competitor platform.
This could allow the company to evolve from a fashion retailer into a wide range of products. Shein has already attracted the Anker accessory retailer, one of the highest revenue sellers on the Amazon market, on its platform with favorable supplies.
In addition, American competitors, such as Amazon and Walmart, are also affected by duties as they import many goods from China. “We see our costs growing every week,” Walmart’s chief executive Doug McMillon complained during the presentation of his six -month -old results on Thursday.
According to data from the Chinese Customs Administration, goods worth more than $ 100 billion were exported from China to the US through e -commerce in 2024. As a result, US retailers were also forced to raise prices to many goods due to punitive custody.
This makes it easier for Temu and Shein to at least partially offset the weight of punitive duties. Thanks to simplified processes and favorable market terms, they can continue to fight for prices leadership.
“It’s clear: The pricing advantages were one of the success factors, but in no way the only one,” says SEEBACH retail expert. The digital expertise of the two retailers is also an important lever for future development. “In a world where artificial intelligence transforms e -commerce, I see Temu and Shein better than their competitors in the US thanks to their technical expertise.”