The use of low -cost electronic commerce giants TeMU and Shein have significantly slow down in the United States key market amid the rates of President Donald Trump about Chinese imports and the closure of Minimis Loophole, as shown by new data.
Temu Daily Active users (DAUS) fell 52% in May versus March, before Trump’s tariffs were announced, while those of Rival Shein fell 25%, according to data shared with CNBC by the sensor company of the market intelligence firm.
Daus is a measure of the number of people who visit or interact with a platform every 24 hours. Monthly active users (MAU), a measure of user participation for a period of 30 days, also decreased in TEMU (30%) and Shein (12%) in May versus March.
The decreases were also reflected in the Apple App Store classifications of both platforms. Themu averaged a range of 132 in May 2025, below an average classification of the first 3 a year ago, while Shein averaged a range of 60 last month compared to a classification of the 10 best the previous year, according to the data.
Neither Temu nor Shein immediately responded to the request for comments from CNBC.
The user delivery occurs when Temu and Shein have withdrawn the advertising expenditure of the United States in recent months from Trump administration fees.
Trump announced in April Radical tariffs on Chinese imports, including the end of the exemption of “Minimis” rates on May 2, which allowed companies to send low -cost products worth less than $ 800 to the United States rate.
In May, Temu’s advertising expenditure in the US fell 95% year after year, while Shein’s dropped 70%.
“The decline of Temu and Shein in advertising spending in the United States was also noticed in April, since the expense decreased by 40% and 65% year -on -year, respectively,” said Sema Shah, research vice president and ideas in Tower sensor, in comments sent by email to CNBC.
Both Temu and Shein also altered their logistics models following tariffs, moving away from a falling shipping model, which allowed them to send items directly from Chinese suppliers to US consumers and, instead, particularly in the case of Temu, building a network of US stores.
Rui Ma, founder and analyst at Tech Buzz China, said that such movements would also have probably affected the advertising expenditure strategy of companies and client acquisition patterns.
“All these additional costs and regulatory obstacles are clearly harming the growth prospects of the United States of Chinese platforms,” he wrote in comments sent by email.
March Tech Buzz Research showed that a 50% tariff would be the point at which Temu would lose most of its price advantages and it would be difficult to operate. The Rate of the old imports of De Minimis is currently 54%, since it has been reduced from 120% in the middle of a 90 -day tariff truce between the United States and China.
Growth outside the United States
Last week, the parent company of Temu PDD Holdings reported profits from the first quarter below the estimates and pointed out tariffs as a significant pressure for sellers.
However, Temu’s popularity has been resumed outside the United States, with non -American users who rise to represent 90% of the 405 million global maus of the platform in the second quarter, according to HSBC.
When writing in a note last week, HSBC analysts said it was “backed by growth in Europe, Latin America and South America.” They added that the fastest of that growth occurred in “less rich markets.”
“Many (Chinese platforms) are now actively redirecting their efforts towards other markets such as Europe,” Ma.
