Okay, here’s that rundown on Shein and Temu, but more from my perspective on what I’m seeing and what I think is going on:

So, I’ve been keeping an eye on these e-commerce giants, Shein and Temu, and it seems pretty clear they’re making a big push into Europe. It really looks like they’re shifting their game plan, moving away from the US, and I reckon a lot of that has to do with those hefty tariffs that came in under the Trump administration.

What really stands out to me is how they’ve ramped up their digital ad spending over here in Europe, especially in April. France and the UK seem to be major targets. I saw some data from Sensor Tower, and it looks like Shein cranked up its ad spend by 35% in both France and the UK month-over-month. Temu wasn’t far behind, boosting theirs by 40% in France and 20% in the UK. That’s a pretty aggressive move, in my opinion.

Looking at it year-over-year, the numbers are even more telling. Temu’s ad spend in the UK apparently jumped 20%, and in France, a whopping 115%! Shein also seems to have upped its game, with a 45% increase in France and a 100% increase in the UK compared to last April. It’s not just those two countries either; Germany, Italy, and Spain are also on their radar.

Now, why this sudden focus on Europe? I think it’s largely because of the US tightening up on that “de minimis” trade exemption. That rule, which let packages under $800 come into the US duty-free, was a massive help for their business model of selling super cheap stuff like $12 dresses and $5 accessories. That’s where they made a big chunk of their sales, or so I understand.

So, it’s no real surprise to me that with that exemption gone (I think the ban kicked in around May 2nd), they’ve had to slash their digital ad spend in the US. I mean, why pour money into a market where your main advantage just got pulled out from under you? Sensor Tower estimated Temu’s average daily US ad spending across major platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok dropped by about 31% in early April compared to the month before. Shein apparently cut back by around 19% in the same period.

I also hear they’re having to hike their prices in the US because of these trade policies hitting cheap imports. That’s got to squeeze their profit margins, right? Especially when their whole appeal was undercutting everyone else like Gap’s Old Navy, Zara, and H&M. They even drove up digital ad bid prices during the holidays, from what I remember.

It makes me think about what some experts are saying. I read a comment from Kimber Maderazzo, a marketing professor, who reckons Shein and Temu probably won’t be able to pull in as many new customers in the US as they used to. She thinks they’re now more focused on just keeping the American shoppers they’ve already got, which makes sense if they’re pushing so hard internationally.

It’s also interesting to see the results of their European ad blitz. In the UK, for example, Sensor Tower said all that advertising is getting Shein and Temu more app downloads – Shein’s downloads were up 25% month-over-month, and Temu’s apparently more than doubled. But, and this is the kicker for me, the number of daily active users on their apps only went up a little bit – 5% for Shein and 10% for Temu. So, they’re getting people to download, but are they sticking around? That’s the big question in my mind.

And it seems Europe isn’t the only new playground. I’ve seen reports that Brazil is also getting a lot of their attention now. Shein is apparently throwing a lot of money at digital ads there, especially since Temu is trying to get into that market. Temu’s ad spending in Brazil this April was apparently astronomically higher than last year. It feels like a familiar strategy – when one market gets tough, you go find another one to try and dominate. It’ll be interesting to see how this all plays out for them.

#shein #temu #ecom