Sensor Tower: Temu's US MAU fell 51% to 40.2M from March to June, while Shein's dropped 12% to 41.4M, amid the US' China tariffs and “de minimis” closure
Context & Ripple Effects
The MAU data extends an already visible US pullback: Sensor Tower had reported sharp declines in daily usage in May after the tariff and de minimis-policy changes. Earlier payment data also showed a weekly US sales drop for both platforms.
The two companies had already cut US digital advertising, while increasing spending in France and the UK. The new monthly-user figures indicate the US impact is persisting beyond an initial demand shock, with Temu affected more severely than Shein.
First-order effects
- Temu's US monthly audience fell to 40.2M between March and June, reducing the platform's immediate reach to shoppers and advertisers; Shein's audience also contracted, to 41.4M.
- The user declines reinforce the US retrenchment signaled by reduced digital ad spending, particularly for Temu.
Second-order effects
- With US acquisition economics under pressure, Temu and Shein have greater incentive to redirect marketing and growth efforts to markets where they had already raised ad spending, including France and the UK.
- A smaller active-user base makes restoring US sales momentum harder: fewer returning shoppers reduce the pool that paid marketing can convert, potentially requiring a different mix of pricing, logistics, or promotion.
Third-order effects
- If the gap persists, cross-border discount marketplaces may become less able to rely on direct-from-China, low-value shipment economics for US scale, favoring business models with more localized fulfillment or different sourcing structures.
- The divergence between Temu's 51% MAU decline and Shein's 12% decline suggests policy shocks need not affect all cross-border platforms equally; brand loyalty, category mix, and customer-acquisition dependence can shape resilience.
The trend: Trade-policy changes are testing whether China-linked e-commerce platforms can sustain US growth when their prior cross-border cost and delivery model is disrupted.