Temu takes lead in US charts, overshadowing Shein

Shein is facing a challenge from a Chinese-owned shopping platform Temu, undermining its dominance as a fast fashion retailer, Bloomberg reported.

Temu, owned by Chinese e-commerce giant Pinduoduo Holdings Inc (PDD) has reported at least a single day of gross merchandise value that surpasses Shein’s number, in the period from September first till now, marking the company’s anniversary of entering the U.S. market.

People familiar with the matter who spoke with Bloomberg said that the move is part of Temu’s broader agenda for dominating the online shopping industry, including long-term success overseas.

While Temu plans to surpass Shein, its current biggest rival, in the coming years, its ultimate goals include taking down retail giants like Amazon and eBay, Bloomberg reported.

Temu’s growth is on the way as the company’s app has become the most downloaded app on Apple’s U.S. store in the last few months, holding a high position on Google Play as well.

Temu’s average daily app installs reached 187,000, surpassing Shein which stands at 62,000.

According to Bloomberg, during its first five months of overseas operations, the company reached $500 million Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) in the U.S., with $200 million worth of sales just in January.

Shein, a Chinese online fast fashion retailer based in Singapore, which has far surpassed Zara and H&M, predicts its global GMV to reach $80.6 billion in 2025, marking 174% growth.

Compared to Shein, Temu doesn’t handle production or design, instead, it offers and sends products provided by suppliers to customers.