Shein spikes US prices 377% amid tariff threat
Fast-fashion giant Shein Group has sharply increased US prices on a range of products—from dresses to kitchenware—ahead of looming tariffs on small parcels from China and Hong Kong, marking an early sign of potential cost pressures for American consumers.
Most of the price hikes took effect on Friday, April 25. The increases were far from uniform: beauty and health products saw average price jumps of 51% compared to the day before, with some items more than doubling. Home and kitchen items, along with toys, experienced more than a 30% rise, led by a staggering 377% surge in the price of a 10-piece kitchen towel set. Women’s clothing saw a relatively modest 8% increase.
The changes come as Shein and fellow e-commerce platform Temu brace for a 120% tariff on many products, following the US government’s move to end the "de minimis" exemption. That policy had previously allowed goods valued under $800 to enter the US tariff-free. Starting May 2, additional postal fees of $100 per shipment will apply, with even higher fees planned after June 1.
Former President Trump recently claimed that "there is virtually no inflation" due to falling energy and grocery prices. However, Shein’s aggressive price adjustments tell a different story, highlighting how Chinese retailers are already passing higher import costs on to US consumers.
To mitigate the impact, Shein earlier this year encouraged some of its Chinese suppliers to establish production facilities in Vietnam. Temu, meanwhile, adopted a "half-custody" model, asking factories to ship goods in bulk directly to American warehouses.
In the lead-up to these tariff changes, both companies saw a surge in US sales during March and early April as consumers rushed to stock up before price hikes took effect. Shein and Temu confirmed earlier this month that they would be raising prices in the US market.
An analysis of a 50-item sample shopping cart showed an average price increase of about 10% for Shein products in the US between April 24 and 26. During this period, seven of the items were delisted from the US site, while pricing in the UK remained largely stable.
Of the 43 items that remained available in the US, 30 saw price hikes of more than 10% in just two days. Even before the broader adjustment on April 25, Shein had already raised prices in specific categories, such as women's clothing, where the average price of the top 100 products rose by over 4% on April 22.
As tariffs tighten, US consumers are likely to see even steeper increases on a broad range of imported goods, marking a clear escalation in the ongoing trade tensions between Washington and Beijing.
