President Trump’s tariffs have urged American online shoppers to abandon first-fashion upstart Tem and Shane in favour of first-fashion upstart Tem and Shane Two other Chinese e-commerce platforms – Dhgate and Taobao – Both have climbed to the top 5 most downloaded programs on Apple’s App Store.
Tiktok’s viral video encourages Chinese manufacturers to use Dhgate and Taobao to buy high-end luxury brand imitations at a fraction of the cost.
As of Friday, dhgate No. 2 Ranked as a free iPhone app In the US, Taobao quickly entered the top five for the first time.
The recent surge in downloads for Dhgate and Taobao reveals unexpected changes in American consumer behavior. This is largely spurred by an increase in tariffs imposed by Trump on US imports from China.
Temu and Shein are two major e-commerce platforms fostered by China, which have become increasingly popular among American consumers in recent years, and have recently announced price increases starting next week.
The move comes from the Trump administration’s decision to eliminate “minimal” exemptions.
This exemption is heavily used by companies like Shein and Temu to ship low-cost products directly to American consumers without incurring tariffs.
Effectively on May 2nd, these shipments will be subject to customs duties that increase from a flat rate of 120% or $100 per package to $200 by June 1st.
Those appearing in the Virus Tiktok video claim that fashion products such as clothing, shoes, handbags and accessories were first manufactured in China.
It is then shipped overseas, mainly to Europe. In Europe, premium labels will be added and products will be repackaged before being sold at a heavily marked-up price.
Tiktok influencers and creators are urging American consumers to apps like Dhgate and Taobao, where they can purchase products directly from Chinese manufacturers.
Bypassing traditional branding channels, shoppers expect savings despite the continued impact of tariffs, aiming for a substantial discount compared to luxury retail prices.
The growing dissatisfaction among consumers with established Chinese shopping apps like Shein and Temu has further fueled this change as prices had to be raised. As a result, consumers quickly adopted alternatives such as Dhgate and Taobao in search of better deals.
New data from App Analytics Provider AppFigures shows this dramatic surge.
In April, Taobao experienced around 185,000 downloads. This is an incredible 514% increase compared to the 30,000 people recorded in the previous month.
The most notable growth occurred last weekend, with Taobao downloads rising nearly six times between Friday and Saturday alone.
Taobao quickly climbed the rankings in the iOS App Store.
Initially, I entered the entire app ranking at No. 461 on Saturday, jumping to No. 188 by Sunday, reaching the top five by Thursday.
Especially within the shopping category, Taobao surged dramatically to No. 2 from No. 49 on Saturday to No. 2 on Thursday. It surpassed major retailers such as Walmart, Amazon, Sheen and Tem.
Additionally, another Chinese e-commerce platform, Alibaba.com, also profited significantly, reaching number six among US shopping apps.
In particular, Appfigures confirmed that this marks Taobao’s debut on the top-to-top charts in the US app store, based on records dating back to January 2017.
This highlights significant changes in consumer attitudes and behavior over a relatively short period of time.
Despite the current popularity of these apps, experts advise consumers to be careful. Shopping on platforms like Dhgate and Taobao carries inherent risks where product quality often fluctuates frequently.
Users are strongly advised to thoroughly read and inspect seller reviews provided by previous buyers before completing the transaction.
