Shein Cuts US Prices Amid Temporary Tariff Relief to Regain Consumer Interest

Shein Group Ltd., the fast-fashion e-commerce giant, has reduced its US retail prices following a temporary rollback of tariffs on Chinese imports by the Trump administration, Bloomberg reports.

The move appears aimed at reversing a recent decline in sales and customer traffic that coincided with earlier price hikes driven by elevated import duties.

According to data tracked by Bloomberg News, the average price of 98 consistently monitored products on Shein’s US platform dropped to $5.56 on Wednesday, down approximately 13% from a recent peak of $6.38 on May 7. The company also issued a price drop alert to US customers, highlighting reductions across a variety of styles and assuring shoppers that they would not face any tariff-related surcharges at checkout.

This pricing adjustment comes in the wake of a significant, albeit temporary, cut in trade duties. The US government lowered the tariff rate on most Chinese imports from 145% to 30% for a 90-day period. The “de minimis” tax—affecting small parcels shipped from China and Hong Kong—was also reduced from 120% to 54%. These changes provide some relief to online retailers like Shein and competitor Temu, both of which depend heavily on low-cost, cross-border shipping from China.

Shein’s price reductions follow a drop in its US performance metrics. Between April 25 and May 4, after the company raised prices in response to the earlier tariff hikes, its US sales fell 15% compared to the same period in 2024, according to Bloomberg Second Measure, which analyzes consumer transaction data. Similarly, Temu’s sales fell about 10% during the same timeframe. Both platforms also experienced a more than 20% decrease in average daily customer traffic in the 15 days following the April price increases, based on data from Similarweb.

Despite the current relief, uncertainties persist around the longer-term direction of US-China trade policy. The lowered tariffs are scheduled to last only 90 days and remain elevated compared to levels prior to the recent policy shift under the Trump administration. These lingering uncertainties continue to pose challenges for Chinese-origin e-commerce platforms seeking to stabilize pricing and maintain competitiveness in the US market.

Meanwhile, domestic retailers such as Amazon and Walmart appear to have benefited from the disruption. Both companies saw a rise in US sales during the week ending May 4, with Amazon’s up 8.1% and Walmart’s increasing by 4.6%, according to Bloomberg Second Measure.