Yesterday, according to report, Shein Group Ltd. has cut prices for U.S. customers in a bid to recapture lost traffic and sales following recent tariff-induced price hikes. The move comes after the Trump administration temporarily reduced tariffs on Chinese imports — a relief for cross-border e-commerce retailers that rely on direct shipments from China to offer low prices.
According to data tracked by Bloomberg News, the average price of 98 consistently monitored Shein products fell to $5.56, a 13% drop from the May 7 peak of $6.38. The company also issued a price drop alert to U.S. shoppers, highlighting reduced costs across its product range and assuring consumers that no tariff-related fees or surprise charges would appear at checkout.
The tariff cuts came after weeks of volatility. The U.S. slashed its general duty on Chinese goods from 145% to 30% and reduced the “de minimis” tax on small parcels from China and Hong Kong from 120% to 54%. These temporary adjustments, set to last 90 days, provided much-needed relief for platforms like Shein and rival Temu — owned by PDD Holdings Inc. — both of which saw declines in U.S. sales and consumer traffic after recent price increases.
Shein’s observed U.S. sales dropped 15% in the week ending May 4 compared to the same period in 2024, while Temu’s sales dipped by around 10%, according to Bloomberg Second Measure. Website traffic also declined more than 20% in the two weeks following the late-April price adjustments, as reported by Similarweb.
