The Chinese large online retailer Shein, which has targeted the U.S. market with low-priced products, has significantly raised prices on key items ahead of the U.S. government's “de minimis” exemption program's abolition. In particular, the price of kitchen towels surged by 377% in just one day, and other major items have reportedly risen by about 30-50%.
On the 27th (local time), Bloomberg News reported that Shein had significantly raised prices on most products sold in the U.S., from clothing to kitchen supplies, over the recent weekend. The tariff war between the U.S. and China has directly impacted American consumers.
Shein began raising prices on key products starting on the 25th ahead of the U.S. tariff imposition. The average price of the top 100 beauty and health products rose by 51% in just one day, with some items more than doubling in price.
Household goods, kitchen items, and toys have increased by more than an average of 30%. Among these, the price of a set of 10 kitchen towels skyrocketed from $1.28 on the 24th to $6.10 on the 25th, an astonishing increase of 377%. The price of women's clothing also rose by 8%.
Earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to abolish the ‘de minimis’ exemption that had exempted imports from China worth $800 (approximately 1.15 million won) or less from tariffs. Accordingly, starting from the 2nd of next month, high tariffs will be imposed on items worth $800 or less coming from China and Hong Kong.
According to Bloomberg, a ‘panic buying mentality’ spread ahead of the tariff increase, resulting in a surge in U.S. sales for Chinese online retailers like Shein and Temu from March to early this month. Various items ranging from makeup brushes to appliances were sold.
Bloomberg's investigation of a sample of 50 diverse items found that prices of Shein's products in the U.S. rose by an average of about 10% between the 24th and the 26th of this month. Among the sample of 50 items, 7 items were completely suspended from sales in the U.S.
Meanwhile, there have been almost no instances of price increases or sales suspensions in the U.K. market.