TikTok Shop, the e-commerce feature of the social media giant owned by ByteDance Ltd., was outselling rivals in the United States ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's damaging trade actions, Bloomberg reported.
The popular video app, which brought in-app shopping capabilities to millions of U.S. users in 2023, continued to surpass Shein and PDD Holdings Inc.'s Temu in January, according to Second Measure. That's based on its performance in 2024, when its full-year sales grow faster.
BSM's Joe Hung said in a research note that TikTokShop's sales increased by 153% that month, while Shein and Temu's sales increased by 26% and 28% respectively.
The data also shows that TikTok’s shopping function has taken more market share from Shein than from Temu.
According to Hung's research, TikTokShop's share of transactions valued at more than $25, which is considered a greater share of Shein's market, grew 16 percentage points in January from a year earlier, while its share of transactions valued at less than $25, Temu's strongest area, grew 7 percentage points.
Over the past year, the research also found a clear shift among Shein customers to TikTok Shop.
Despite TikTok Shop's meteoric growth, the video app's future in the United States remains in question as it continues to face the threat of a ban if it fails to sell part of its U.S. operations. TikTok has 170 million monthly active users, but Trump's 10% tariff on Chinese exports and possible taxes on small packages have also brought uncertainty to TikTok.
Currently, Chinese packages worth less than $800 are exempt from tariffs under the so-called de minimis rule, a category that covers the majority of packages delivered to U.S. consumers by Shein, Temu and TikTok Shop. That prompted Shein and Temu to accelerate efforts to mitigate the impact of Trump’s removal of exemptions from tariffs on small packages.
Losing market share to rivals could be another blow to Shein. The fast-fashion retailer is facing pressure to lower its valuation to around $30 billion in a London initial public offering, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter.