Shein must surrender all data of Indian customers and control of its local operations to its partner, Reliance Retail, and keep operations fully local to re-enter the Indian market, according to new government disclosures that reveal how the apparel and accessories retailer secured a rare exception to India’s ban on Chinese-linked apps. In a parliamentary […]
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TikTok Shop has surpassed retail giants Shein and Sephora in the online battle for US shoppers.
A 2025 consumer trends report by Coefficient Capital and The New Consumer's Dan Frommer analyzed how Americans' spending habits could affect certain brands. The research included 11 surveys of over 3,000 US consumers. The company conducted its most recent survey this month.
TikTok Shop launched in September 2023, making it a relatively new online retailer compared to its peers. However, the consumer trends report said 80% of surveyed Americans who use TikTok at least once a month are aware of TikTok Shop, signaling the retailer's growing reach.
That reach has helped TikTok overtake retailers like Sephora, Shein, and Qurate in US consumer spending for the third financial quarter, according to the trends report.
Sephora and Shein are two popular online retailers in the United States, especially with younger generations like Gen Alpha. Qurate Retail Group owns and operates six retail brands, including QVC. The company sells items online through its brands.
Sephora helped its parent company, LVMH, achieve record-breaking sales in 2023, reaching $10 billion in revenue across North America. Shein made $2 billion in profits that year. Although Qurate's third-quarter earnings report said revenue decreased by 5%, it generated $152 million in operating income.
A March Financial Times report cited three sources who said TikTok had reached $16 billion in sales in the United States. It's unclear how much the TikTok Shop has made since its 2023 launch, but the company said in its 2024 economic report that the app drove $15 billion in revenue for small businesses in the United States.
The consumer trends report said 45% of surveyed Americans purchased "fashion, clothing, and accessories" from TikTok Shop. Beauty and personal care items came second at 44%. Surveyed TikTok users also indicated purchasing electronics, home goods, food, toys, books, and more from the online shop.
TikTok has led the growth of social media shopping apps in the United States in recent years. TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, likely wants to replicate the success of its sister app in China, Douyin, which drives hundreds of billions in sales annually, often through influencer livestreams.
Despite its rising popularity with content creators and shoppers alike, TikTok faces a potential federal ban in the United States next month.
In April, Congress passed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. The law gives ByteDance until January 19 to divest from TikTok or face a ban in the United States. On December 6, a federal appeals court upheld the ban as constitutional.
Lawmakers worry that the Chinese government could compel the app's Chinese ownership to manipulate content for propaganda or leverage the personal data of millions of Americans.
Ahead of the potential ban, TikTok launched a "limited-time offer " promotion this week, allowing users to earn $50 in TikTok Shop credits to recruit a new user. Users can earn up to $350 in shop credits in total.
Representatives for TikTok, Shein, Sephora, and Qurate did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
The European Union is drowning under cheap packages coming from Asian online retailers, starting with ultra low-cost e-tailers AliExpress, Shein, and Temu. The Financial Times has learned that the EU is considering a crackdown on such imported goods due to safety and counterfeiting concerns. The issue is there are currently no custom duties on goods […]
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Anthony Devlin/Getty Images for Shein
It's "SHE-in" — not "sheen."
2024 brought us another year of mispronounced names and words in the popular discourse, from brands to popular medicine to politicians and high-profile celebrities.
Since 2016, the closed-captioning company The Captioning Group has compiled the list on behalf of the language platform Babbel, bringing together all the terms that newscasters, politicians, and public figures struggled to pronounce correctly on TV.
Esteban Touma, a linguistic and cultural expert at Babbel, told Business Insider this year's words were a snapshot of the political, cultural, and musical zeitgeist.
Ready to test your pronunciation chops?
In no particular order, here are the top 10 most mispronounced words of the year, according to Babbel's report.
Peter Hansen/Getty Images
There is more to the hype surrounding semaglutide, the active ingredient of the weight loss medication Ozempic, than just its effects.
For those unfamiliar with the antidiabetic medication, pronouncing it can be a challenge.
Pronunciation: sem-ah-GLOO-tide
Liu Jie/Xinhua via Getty Images
The transportation secretary and former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, was one of the Democrats' most articulate spokespeople when he took over the airwaves and tried to appeal to swing voters and moderates for Harris.
He's also been known to spar with Elon Musk online.
Pronunciation: peet BOOD-ih-judge
Rodrigo Arangua/AFP via Getty Images
The name of the fast fashion company Shein is frequently mispronounced as "Sheen." The company is reportedly planning to debut on the London Stock Exchange early next year.
Pronunciation: SHE-in
Tom Williams/Getty Images
Vice President Kamala Harris has often seen her name being mispronounced, most recently in the run-up to the November 2024 presidential election.
Her nieces, Amara and Leela, helped set the record straight onstage at the DNC in August.
"It's like a comma in a sentence," explained Amara. "Then you say 'la,' like 'la la la,'" added Leela.
Pronunciation: COM-a-la HAR-iss
Taylor Hill/WireImage
Actress Zendaya starred as tennis prodigy Tashi Duncan in "Challengers" and as Chani in "Dune: Part II." Her name is frequently mispronounced "Zen-DIE-a."
Pronunciation: Zen-DAY-a
Mary Mathis for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Pop singer Chappell Roan had a breakout year in 2024.
She has humorously called out those who said [SHA-pel ROW-an] during a live performance, making it clear that it's actually [CHAP-uhl], which sounds like chapel, and [ROHN], which rhymes with tone.
Pronunciation: CHAP-uhl ROHN
NASA
SPECULOOS-3b is an Earth-sized exoplanet that orbits a red dwarf that captured global attention in May when astronomers announced its discovery at a distance of 55 light-years.
Pronunciation: SPEK-yuh-lohss three bee
Andre PAIN / POOL / AFP
The phryge, the mascot of the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics, was chosen as a symbol of freedom and to represent allegorical figures of the French Republic.
Pronunciation: FREE-je
Amy Sussman/Getty Images
The Irish actor rose to prominence for his role in Emerald Fennell's "Saltburn" last year, though Sabrina Carpenter fans will also know him as the pop singer's boyfriend.
Though the letter "G" is often silent in Irish names, Keoghan's last name has a distinct "G" sound.
Pronunciation: BARR-ee key-OH-gin
Shutterstock
Shohei Ohtani's dog, a Dutch Kooikerhondje, "threw" the first pitch at a game at Dodger Stadium after the Dodgers' pitcher signed a historic 10-year, $700 million deal with the MLB team.
Pronunciation: COY-ker-HUND-che
Rodrigo Arangua/AFP via Getty Images
Editor's note: This list was first published in August 2022 and has been updated to reflect recent developments.
Chinese fast-fashion companies are coming under renewed scrutiny for toxic chemicals, a problem that has plagued the fashion industry globally.
On Friday, Korean officials said they tested 26 pieces of children's winter wear from Temu, AliExpress, and Shein and found that seven contained toxic substances like phthalate plasticizers, lead, and cadmium.
A children's jacket from Temu contained 622 times the legal limit for phthalate plasticizers, a chemical compound that makes plastics more flexible. Spokespeople for AliExpress and Temu said the products were removed, while a Shein spokesperson said the tested products were in compliance with regulations.
This is not the first time South Korea has found toxic chemicals in items from Chinese fast-fashion brands. In August, the Seoul Metropolitan Government found phthalates in some pairs of shoes, with one particular pair containing 229 times the legal limit. The same investigation revealed that sandal insoles sold by Temu contained 11 times more lead than legally permissible.
And in an earlier investigation in May, Seoul officials said that they tested a pair of Shein shoes, and found that it contained 428 times the permitted levels of phthalates, according to the AFP.
Experts said that many large clothing brands like Lululemon, Old Navy, and REI have been found to contain toxic chemicals in their clothes. While these chemicals are used at relatively low levels, exposure to toxic substances over time can elevate a person's risks of serious health conditions, such as asthma and kidney damage.
"It's not just people are exposed to one on a regular day," Alexandra McNair Quinn, a chemical sustainability consultant and founder of Fashion FWD, a nonprofit educating consumers about toxic chemicals in clothes, told BI in 2022. "It's the accumulation of all of these exposures in a regular day can be very harmful."
The use of chemicals like PFAS and lead is "fairly common" within the fashion industry, Marty Mulvihill, a general partner with Safer Made, a venture capital fund that invests in firms reducing exposure to harmful chemicals.
Yoga pants and gym leggings sold by Lululemon and Old Navy contained PFAS, according to testing done by consumer health activist blog Mamavation. Outdoor apparel brands Columbia, REI, and L.L. Bean received either a D or F grading for PFAS by Fashion FWD, a non-profit educating consumers about toxic chemicals in clothes.
(In 2022, REI and L. L. Bean reiterated their commitment to product safety in statements to BI. Columbia, Lululemon, Old Navy, and Shein did not respond to BI's requests for comment at the time.)
A 2012 sample of clothes from popular retailers detected phthalates in 31 garments, and lead had been found in baby bibs sold in Walmart and Babies R Us, BI previously reported.
Quinn said manufacturers can add these chemicals to make them waterproof or stain-resistant, and soften ink on screen prints. Lead is sometimes found in low-cost pigments and inks, as well as zippers, and chromium can make leather more pliable.
Habibur Rahman / Eyepix Group/Future Publishing via Getty Images
Exposure to substances like lead and phthalates may directly harm people manufacturing clothes more than consumers, said Scott Echols in 2022. Echols is a senior director at the ZDHC Foundation, which works with companies to limit their chemical footprint.
The sustainable fashion analytics firm Common Objective estimated in 2018 that 27 million people working in fashion supply chains worldwide might suffer from work-related illnesses or diseases, including skin and respiratory conditions.
Plus, the exposure to toxic chemicals builds up over time, Quinn said. Not only are these chemicals in clothing, they exist in our food, water, makeup, and personal care products.
"PFAS don't just go away, they're around for very, very long time and they're very harmful to the environment and to human health," Quinn said. "The government needs to develop a preventative approach where products don't go on the market until they're proven safe."
Quinn told BI that toxic chemicals used to make clothes include:
Washing new clothing is an important step in reducing residual substances, including potential toxins. Use hot water if the clothes' instructions allow it.
To avoid purchasing clothing with PFAS, check your label for materials like Gore-Tex or Teflon, which could signal that the chemicals were used in the fabric. But the bigger concern is how those clothes affect the world around us.
"The biggest issue associated with consumer products isn't necessarily the direct exposure that we get from the products, but what gets released into the environment when those products are produced," Jamie DeWitt, the director of the Environmental Health Sciences Center at Oregon State University, told BI in 2019.
In 2023, Laura Hardman, then the director of the Ocean Wise Plastic Initiative at the Ocean Wise Plastic Lab in Vancouver, Canada, told BI that she buys clothing made from natural fibers and dyes for her and her child.
"A lot of people make sure their babies' clothes are organic, cotton, and made with child-friendly dyes, but they're not aware of their own clothing. Your baby is probably sucking on your clothes more than she's sucking on hers," said Hardman, who now works with Dubai-based consultancy Sustainability Excellence.
Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election could spell trouble for Chinese fast-fashion brands, particularly Gen Z-favorite budget brands like Shein and Temu.
On Monday, Trump said in a Truth Social post that he intends to slap China with an additional 10% import tariff — on top of any tariffs he already plans to impose. He said these tariffs were a punishment for China sending "massive amounts of drugs, in particular Fentanyl," to the US.
In his first term, from 2016 to 2020, Trump imposed protectionist policies, including 25% tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods, leading to a trade war with China.
While campaigning this year, Trump said he would impose tariffs of 60% or higher taxes on Chinese products.
In response to Trump's Monday statements, Chinese Embassy Spokesperson Liu Pengyu said that "no one will win a trade war or a tariff war."
A report published by the National Retail Federation on November 4 calculated that American consumers could lose between $46 billion and $78 billion in spending power yearly.
If Trump imposes a 10% universal tariff on all imports and an additional 60% to 100% tariff on goods from China, apparel prices would increase between 12.5% and 20.6%, the NRF wrote in the report.
Consumers would cut back spending on apparel by up to 33%, the NRF report projects.
The stakes are high for cheap Chinese e-commerce businesses: Temu parent company PDD has for months warned of slowing profits. The company's stock is down 31% this year. Meanwhile, Shein is gearing up for a hotly-anticipated initial public offering, likely next year.
David Jacks, an economics professor from Singapore's Yale-NUS College, told BI that it's "hard to think of any scenario" where the fast-fashion industry "completely escapes revived US protectionism."
He said that because their supply chains originate from China, Shein and Temu are "likely to receive even greater scrutiny and suffer higher tariffs" compared to other businesses that manufacture in Bangladesh and Morocco, for example.
"Consumers will almost certainly pay higher prices, and producers will almost certainly earn lower profits," Jacks added.
The companies have not publicly addressed possible US tariffs, including on PDD's earnings call last week. Lei Chen, PDD's co-CEO, said on the call that "intensifying competition in the global market" and a "complex external environment" will bring "ups and downs."
Neither Shein nor Temu responded to Business Insider's requests for comment.
Jeffrey Towson, the founder of US and China-based retail consultancy TechMoat Consulting, said that Shein and Temu are popular in the US precisely because of their cheap products.
"Shein and Temu excel at very low prices. That's why American consumers love them. But there is nothing left to squeeze out of their China supply chains," Towson told BI.
He said that consumers are likely to face price increases unless "the supply chains are redirected," which he said was "very likely."
Emily Pfeiffer, a principal analyst at market research firm Forrester, said that she expects struggles for the businesses in the future, especially after Amazon launched its own low-price site called Amazon Haul.
"Shein and Temu only became popular in the US relatively recently, over the past four years or so. They haven't been subjected to changes that would have a sudden, significant, negative impact on their competitiveness as low-price marketplaces," Pfeiffer said.
But Jacob Cooke, CEO of e-commerce consulting firm WPIC Marketing + Technologies, offered an alternative view. He said that even if the tariffs are imposed on Temu's imports, the brand "will still be price competitive due to thinner merchant margins and access to cheap Chinese sourcing."
Shein is known for its massive garment production. Analysts have called Shein's business model "real-time retail" because new designs can take as little as three days to produce, Vox reported in 2021.
The company is planning to go public in the UK, eyeing a $65 billion valuation, Bloomberg reported in October.
However, its reputation has been marred by exploitative labor practices and investigations that showed that its products contained toxic substances.
And while Shein has become synonymous with fast fashion produced in China, it's facing rising competition from Temu.
Temu sells low-cost products ranging from home goods to motorcycle accessories. In February, it spent millions of dollars on Super Bowl advertisements in an effort to win over the US market.
Both brands have been under regulatory scrutiny. In September, the Biden administration announced that it would take steps to reduce the "abuse" of a trade law that has allowed firms like Shein and Temu to avoid taxes and tariffs when they enter the US.
The trade provision, called "de minimis," allows importers to avoid paying import fees on shipments of less than $800 if they go straight to consumers.
