Online shopping giants Temu and Shein have seen a sustained drop in sales in the week after US President Donald Trump scrapped a duty exemption that their small parcels benefit from, suggesting a chilling effect on American consumers who previously flocked to their ultra-cheap wares.

PDD Holding’s (PDD) e-commerce platform, Temu, and a privately held online retailer, Shein, have recently seen a major drop in their U.S.

Sellers and shoppers on the two sites say they saw items disappear and prices go up after President Donald Trump implemented tariffs on Chinese imports.

Americans love Shein, Temu and AliExpress for two reasons: low prices and fast shipping. Trump’s tariffs could change that. His tariff orders reversed a long-standing shipping loophole: the de minimis exemption.

The Trump administration move to stop low-cost imports entering the U.S. tariff-free is likely to hit fast fashion retailer Shein harder than online dollar-store Temu, thanks to Temu's wider product range and moves to change its shipping strategy.

Online shopping giants Temu and Shein have experienced a sustained decline in US sales following President Donald Trump’s announcement to revoke the duty-free exemption on small parcels under $800 from China.

Shein’s US sales fell 16 per cent to 41 per cent for five days from February 5 while Temu’s fell as much as 32 per cent.