Fast fashion fans who forgot to clear their shopping carts may have a higher total waiting if they return to checkout after Friday, April 25.
E-commerce giants Shein and Temu announced in early April that prices would be rising on both platforms in response to changing trade policy between the U.S. and China. In nearly identical notices shared April 16, the competitors explained that, "Due to recent changes in global trade rules and tariffs," operating expenses had gone up and so would prices.
"To keep offering the products you love without compromising on quality, we will be making price adjustments starting April 25, 2025," both notices read.
Known for selling clothing and convenience items at cheap prices, both sellers have attracted American shoppers looking to place large orders for remarkably low costs and often free shipping. Between the 145% import tariff currently imposed on China by President Donald Trump and the impending closure of a trade loophole that allowed packages under $800 in value to come into the country for free, those rock-bottom prices may soon begin to rise.
We tracked 15 items across both platforms in the days before the April 25 deadline and after to get a snapshot of what the price changes may look like. Here's what we found.
Shein and Temu are Chinese-founded companies. Though Shein has since moved its base to Singapore and Temu has a headquarters in Boston, both still operate and ship items out of China, meaning they will be subject to the 145% import tariff currently levied against the country.
Additionally, a trade loophole called the "de minimis" exemption that previously allowed low-value goods to be shipped to the U.S. duty-free is set to close at midnight on May 1.
Beginning on May 2, carriers (meaning commercial mail agencies like UPS and FedEx) will either have to pay a 120% rate on packages from China valued at under $800 or a $100 package fee. On June 1, that fee will jump from $100 to $200, the White House announced on April 9.
While the de minimis exemption is not being eliminated until May 2, both Shein and Temu released notices on April 16 saying they would be performing "price adjustments" starting April 25.
Though the two companies are competitors, their announcements were nearly identical.
Yes, Shein and Temu are still shipping to the U.S. and other countries. Because of tariffs and the closing de minimis loophole, however, U.S. customers may see higher prices.
Neither Shein nor Temu clarified how much they intend to raise prices. When reviewing dozens of items on both sites, USA TODAY found that some prices were over 100% higher, while some were the same or lower than their pre-April 25 tag. The 15 items below are a sampling of what USA TODAY tracked.
Because Temu and Shein serve as a marketplace for third-party sellers, have partnerships with certain manufacturers and make some of their own branded clothing, a clean, uniform increase across all items, categories and sellers is likely not possible.
Temu has a "Local Warehouse" shopping tab under which you can shop items that ship through nearby distributors. Temu, like Shein, has fulfillment centers and warehouses in different countries, including the U.S., where Chinese sellers and manufacturers send some items in bulk.
Through this practice, Temu can offer faster, cheaper shipping to U.S. customers and, in the case of the new tariffs and duties, avoid foisting additional costs onto customers. This is reflected in the price changes we observed on April 25, which disproportionately impacted non-local inventory.
We chose popular items from housewares as well as men's, women's and children's clothing categories on the "best-selling" pages on Temu.
While Shein also has U.S.-based fulfillment centers, it does not specify when shopping where an item is shipped from. When putting items in a shopping cart on April 25, a new message appeared at the top saying, "Tariffs are included in the price you pay. You'll never have to pay extra at delivery."
We chose housewares and clothing items from "most popular items" under the "best sellers" category on Shein. The prices of items we reviewed did not appear to change significantly, though it is unclear if this is because the items selected come from shippers closer to the U.S. or our sample did not capture the most impacted products.
Both Shein and Temu said in their online statements that they would be making adjustments "starting" on April 25, indicating that price changes will be an ongoing process. However, neither company responded to USA TODAY's request for clarification.
Trump said in late April that the 145% tariff on China will "come down substantially" in the future. It is unclear how this could impact prices.
Contributing: Bianca Harris, James Sergent, USA TODAY