Market intelligence firm Sensor Tower has revealed that fast-fashion e-commerce sites SHEIN and Temu, which ship goods from China, increased their expenditures on digital advertisements in Europe in April, moving away from the United States where they are subject to crippling tariffs.
Compared to other European nations, France and the UK had the biggest increases in SHEIN and Temu’s advertising expenditures. According to Sensor Tower data, SHEIN grew spending in France and the UK by 35 per cent, while Temu from PDD Group climbed by 40 per cent and 20 per cent month over month, respectively.
As the merchants struggle with US President Donald Trump’s prohibition on de minimis, a trade exception that formerly let goods priced under US $ 800 to enter the nation duty-free, advertising across Europe—which includes France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom—has increased.
Since the US accounts for the majority of SHEIN and Temu’s sales, the exemption played a significant role in their explosive rise there. Ahead of the 2nd May prohibition on de minimis, the two businesses, which import goods from China, cut digital advertisements in the US last month.
The number of daily active users of the applications has only slightly increased month over month, despite the rise in app downloads and advertising. Temu’s daily active users rose by 10 per cent, while SHEIN’s increased by 5 per cent in the UK. Temu raised its ad spending in France by 115 per cent and in the UK by 20 per cent on an annual basis. In April of the previous year, SHEIN raised it by 45 per cent in France and 100 per cent in the UK.
In the two weeks between 31st March and 13th April, Temu’s average daily US ad spending on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snap, X, and YouTube decreased by a total of 31 per cent when compared to the preceding 30 days. Over the same time period, SHEIN’s average daily US ad spending on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Pinterest decreased by an average of 19 per cent.
Additionally, Temu and SHEIN are moving some of their digital advertising to Brazil. In an attempt to compete with Temu’s market debut, SHEIN, which produces goods in Brazil for its Latin American markets, raised its digital marketing spending by 140 per cent in April compared to the same month last year. Temu spent 800 times as much on ads in Brazil in April this year as it did the previous year, when it was increasing its promotion there in preparation for its June 2024 launch.
