Temu, Shein, TikTok Shop have the advantage this holiday season

The insight: Temu, Shein, and TikTok Shop are scooping up a greater share of holiday spending this year—at the expense of Amazon, Target, and Best Buy.

• TikTok Shop’s sales are up a whopping 225.9% YoY for the period between November 1 and December 4, per Earnest Analytics. Shein’s and Temu’s sales rose 20.5% YoY and 18.5%, respectively, in the same period.
• Amazon’s sales fell 0.5% YoY in that time, despite the retailer’s best Black Friday performance on record. Target sales dropped 4.6%, and Best Buy’s sales declined 7.8%.

Behind the numbers: All three Chinese ecommerce platforms performed well during the Cyber Five, a testament to their ability to stay top-of-mind with shoppers bombarded by deals on all sides.

Both Temu and Shein grew sales by double digits on Black Friday and notched growth on Cyber Monday, per Facteus data cited by Reuters.

• Temu generated $53.3 million in revenues on Black Friday and $55.1 million on Cyber Monday; Shein’s sales reached $34.2 million and $38.2 million on those respective days.
• Their momentum this holiday season is in part due to their growing influence on toy sales: Temu told Reuters that toys were a top-performing category this Cyber Five, while a Shein spokesperson said the platform’s toy sales have increased by double digits this year.

TikTok Shop outpaced the two retailers significantly, with $100 million in sales on Black Friday alone—a sign that the app’s pending ban is having little effect on its ecommerce growth.

Looking ahead: TikTok Shop, Shein, Temu, and other Chinese ecommerce platforms are expected to account for 1 in 5 holiday purchases (21%) worldwide this year, per Salesforce, as shoppers’ penny-pinching tendencies lead them to embrace low-cost options.

That said, while TikTok, Shein, and Temu are set to close out the year on a high note, 2025 could be a different story.

• TikTok is inching closer to a US ban, which would cut the app off from a crucial ecommerce market—unless President-elect Donald Trump issues a reprieve.
• All three platforms will also have to contend with stricter de minimis rules, which will force them to shift their supply-chain tactics and build up local fulfillment networks.
• The era of easy growth is over. While expensive ad blitzes helped Chinese ecommerce platforms quickly build their customer bases, the next challenge will be retention—a job made more difficult by Amazon’s recent entry into the discount space.

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