Temu, Shein win more repeat shoppers as ad blitzes pay off

The insight: Chinese ecommerce players are winning over US shoppers at the expense of platforms like eBay and Etsy, thanks to their low prices and trendy assortments.

• One in five Americans shops with retailers like Temu, Shein, and TikTok Shop at least once a week, according to a survey by Omnisend.
• Both Temu and Shein attract more repeat shoppers monthly than eBay and Etsy, although they trail Amazon and Walmart by a considerable margin.

Why it matters: The speed with which Shein and Temu entrenched themselves into the US retail landscape shows just how effective the two companies’ ad blitzes have been—and continue to be.

• Shein spent between $300 and $400 million in 2023 on marketing and customer acquisition, per estimates by Bernstein analyst Robin Zhu reported by The Information. Meanwhile, Temu spent $386 million on advertising in the first four months of 2024 alone—and parent company PDD shows no signs of tightening the purse strings.
• But the healthy retention rates of both retailers—34.6% and 34.4% of US shoppers making at least one purchase monthly at Shein and Temu, respectively—show that consumers are getting hooked on the ability to purchase trendy clothing and beauty products at rock-bottom prices, even if those items arrive much more slowly or are poorer quality than what can be found on established marketplaces.
• That’s a big problem for Amazon, given that it has largely chosen not to compete with Chinese ecommerce retailers on price, instead emphasizing speedy fulfillment and reliability.

The big takeaway: At this point, the biggest threats to Shein and Temu are government regulators concerned about the marketplaces’ ties to China and potential use of forced labor, (mis)use of duty-free provisions, and their environmental impacts.

• Even concerns about Temu’s trustworthiness aren’t hurting sales: Just 7% of US consumers say they trust the retailer, but 68% continue to shop there.