Americans flock to Chinese e-commerce apps DHgate, – Business News
President Trump’s tariffs have prompted American online customers to ditch fast-fashion upstarts Temu and Shein in favor of two different Chinese e-commerce platforms — DHgate and Taobao — each of which have climbed into the highest 5 most downloaded packages on Apple’s App Store.
Viral videos on TikTok characteristic Chinese producers urging American customers to use DHgate and Taobao to buy knockoffs of high-end luxurious manufacturers at a fraction of the fee.
As of Friday, DHgate ranked because the No 2 free iPhone app within the US, with Taobao swiftly coming into the Top 5 for the primary time.
Taobao is a Chinese e-commerce platform that’s among the many most downloaded amongst American customers of Apple smartphones and laptops. Timon – stock.adobe.com
The current surge in downloads of DHgate and Taobao reveals an surprising shift in American shopper conduct — spurred largely by elevated tariffs imposed by Trump on US imports from China.
Temu and Shein, two main Chinese-founded e-commerce platforms which have turn into more and more widespread amongst American customers in recent times, just lately introduced price will increase beginning subsequent week.
The transfer stems from the Trump administration’s choice to remove the “de minimis” exemption, which beforehand allowed imports valued below $800 to enter the nation duty-free.
This exemption has been closely utilized by firms like Shein and Temu to ship low-cost items immediately to American customers with out incurring tariffs.
Effective May 2, these shipments will likely be subject to tariffs, beginning at 120% or a flat price of $100 per package deal, rising to $200 by June 1.
DHgate and Taobao cracked the highest 5 of the preferred apps on the Apple App Store.
Those showing within the viral TikTok videos declare that fashion merchandise corresponding to clothes, footwear, purses and equipment are initially manufactured in China.
They are subsequently shipped overseas, primarily to Europe, the place luxurious labels are added and merchandise repackaged earlier than being offered at considerably marked-up costs.
TikTok influencers and creators urged American customers towards apps like DHgate and Taobao, the place gadgets might be bought immediately from Chinese producers.
By bypassing conventional branding channels, customers anticipate financial savings regardless of ongoing tariff impacts, aiming for substantial reductions in contrast to luxurious retail costs.
Fast-fashion e-retailer Shein and Temu are raising costs in response to President Trump’s tariffs. REUTERS
Growing shopper dissatisfaction with established Chinese purchasing apps like Shein and Temu, which have had to increase costs, has additional fueled this shift. Consequently, customers quickly adopted alternate options corresponding to DHgate and Taobao in search of higher offers.
New information from app analytics supplier Appfigures illustrates this dramatic surge.
In April, Taobao skilled roughly 185,000 downloads — a staggering 514% rise in contrast to the 30,000 recorded the earlier month.
The most pronounced growth occurred over the previous weekend, with Taobao downloads rising by almost sixfold between Friday and Saturday alone.
Taobao swiftly climbed the rankings within the iOS App Store.
Initially coming into the general app rankings at No 461 on Saturday, it jumped to No 188 by Sunday, and reached the Top 5 by Thursday.
An worker packages clothes for the online Chinese e-commerce company Temu at a clothes manufacturing facility within the southern Chinese metropolis o Guangzhou on April 16, 2025. AFP by way of Getty Images
Within the purchasing class particularly, Taobao surged dramatically from No 49 on Saturday to No 2 by Thursday — surpassing main retailers corresponding to Walmart, Amazon, Shein and Temu.
Additionally, one other Chinese e-commerce platform, Alibaba.com, additionally noticed important positive aspects, reaching No 6 amongst purchasing apps within the US.
Notably, Appfigures confirmed that this marks Taobao’s debut within the US App Store’s Top Overall charts, primarily based on their information relationship back to January 2017.
This underscores the exceptional shift in shopper attitudes and behaviors over a comparatively short period.
Despite these apps’ present recognition, specialists advise warning to customers. Shopping on platforms corresponding to DHgate and Taobao entails inherent dangers, with product high quality typically variable.
Users are strongly inspired to completely learn vendor opinions and examine pictures offered by earlier patrons prior to finishing any transactions.
