Temu, Shein and AliExpress are losing their grip on European shoppers. New figures from Germany show their combined sales fell by more than a third in the third quarter, as the European Union's new €3 duty on cheap parcels starts to bite.
Sales slump in Germany
According to the German e-commerce association BEVH, the three Chinese platforms sold €566 million worth of goods in Germany in the third quarter. That is down from €878 million a year earlier — a fall of 35.5 percent.
Their share of Germany's online retail market shrank too, from 5.3 percent to 3.1 percent.
The €3 duty is doing the damage
Analysts point to one main cause: the €3 duty the EU began charging in July on parcels worth up to €150. These cheap parcels were the heart of the Chinese platforms' business model — millions of small packets shipped straight from China to European doorsteps.
"High duties are noticeably hurting low-margin Asian goods," said the head of the German association. On a product that costs only a few euros, an extra €3 can double the price — and that kills the appeal.
The picture is similar in France. Data from the research company Médiamétrie, quoted by the French e-commerce association FEVAD, shows that in July, Shein lost 42.3 percent of its unique visitors compared with a year earlier. Temu lost 36.4 percent, and AliExpress 10.4 percent.
But Marc Lolivier, the director of FEVAD, warns against celebrating too soon. "It is not yet time to declare that we have won," he said. Tens of millions of people in France still visit these sites every month.
European sellers are not winning yet
Interestingly, local European shops have not yet gained much from their rivals' weakness. Some shoppers stocked up before the duty took effect, knowing prices would rise. Others moved their spending from online shops to ordinary high-street stores.
Soon a €2 handling fee will be added on top of the €3 duty, and there may later be another charge for safety checks on imported goods. Parcels from outside the EU will keep getting more expensive.
The platforms are fighting back
Temu, Shein and AliExpress are not standing still. All three are building large warehouses inside Europe. Instead of sending millions of small packets by air, they ship goods in bulk by container and sell from local warehouses — where the duty cost per item is far lower.
Shein has been expanding warehouse space in Wrocław, Poland. Temu has stored and dispatched some goods from warehouses in Czechia since 2024 and expects its local share of sales to keep growing, according to the head of DHL in the Czech Republic.
Regulators are watching this move closely. The platforms still hold other advantages too — some less than honest, such as weak product safety checks and doubtful certificates.
Safety failures raise the pressure
Consumer groups in Germany, Belgium and Denmark tested 162 products bought from Temu and Shein. They found that 110 of them — 68 percent — did not meet EU safety requirements.
Of 27 children's toys from Shein, none passed the tests. Of 27 chargers from Temu, only one met the standard. Twelve chargers from Shein carried what testers called a serious risk of overheating or fire. Two necklaces from Shein contained more than 85 percent cadmium — over 8,500 times the EU legal limit.
Regulators are tightening the screws. In May, the European Commission fined Temu €200 million for failing to properly assess the risks of illegal goods on its platform. Shein is understood to be next in its sights.
Pressure from the United States too
Temu is also under pressure across the Atlantic. It has agreed to pay $3 million to settle a data privacy case brought by Texas, which accused it of sharing Texans' data with the Chinese government. Temu admitted no wrongdoing but must now store Texas residents' data on US servers and submit its apps to annual outside security testing. Similar cases are pending in Missouri, Arizona and other states.
When the United States ended duty-free treatment for low-value parcels earlier, the Chinese platforms shifted their focus to Europe. Now Europe is closing its doors too — and there is no obvious next market to pivot to.
What it means for shoppers
For bargain hunters, the era of ultra-cheap cross-border shopping is fading. Since July, the €3 duty has applied to parcels worth up to €150 entering the EU, and a €2 handling fee will soon be added. Prices on the Chinese platforms are likely to keep rising.
The platforms will adapt and local warehouses will grow. But the golden age of the $2 parcel shipped straight from China is coming to an end — in Europe at least.
