New data from Roy Morgan capturing the annual shopper base of ultra cheap online disruptors Shein and Temu has revealed the staggering numbers of shoppers across both platforms.
Around 3.8 million Australians aged 14 and up are buying at least once from Temu over 12 months, while 2 million are buying at least once from Shein.
Both of these customer bases are up by more than 30 per cent respectively over the last six months. Temu shoppers have surged by 400,000 from the October to December 2023 quarter to 1.66 million in the April to June 2024 quarter, up 32 per cent - or 3.8 million people in a 12-month period.
Meanwhile, Shein’s shopper base has grown 34 per cent, leaping from 830,000 monthly shoppers to 1.11 million over the same time period - or 2 million people in a 12-month period.
This has upped Roy Morgan’s estimates of market share for both Temu and Shein, with the research firm claiming that together they are closing in on $3 billion in annual sales in the 12 months to June 2024. That is $1.7 billion for Temu and $1.1 billion for Shein.
For reference, annual fashion sales in Australia was estimated to have hit $23.2 billion in 2023 according to research firm IBISWorld.
“Much is said about the long-term viability of these ultra-cheap retailers,” Roy Morgan reported. “However, if the growth in customer numbers continues in line with the recent two quarters, it is expected that Temu will hit, and possibly surpass, $2 billion in annual sales, and Shein will hit and possibly surpass $1.3 billion in all sales.”
Regarding shoppers, most of the Shein and Temu shoppers are return customers. Among those customers who have shopped on Shein and Temu in the last 12-month period, the majority are repeat customers - 76 per cent of Shein shoppers and 80 per cent of Temu shoppers - or those buying at least twice in the 12-month period from each platform.
Over 40 per cent of Shein and Temu shoppers are buying four or more times in a 12-month period - 42 per cent for Shein and 48 per cent for Temu.
The Shein shopper is still majority female (78 per cent) according to Roy Morgan, in line with the platform’s biggest category: women’s clothing.
Temu has a much greater proportion of male shoppers, buying from the varied range of categories available including clothing, accessories and electrical goods.
Looking at age, almost half of Shein shoppers are aged under 35, while the Temu shopper is older – more than 70 per cent are aged 35 and up.
“It’s been extraordinary to witness the continued rise of these ultra cheap platforms, especially over the last 9 months where they have enjoyed the kind of growth that Australian retailers can only dream of in this climate,” Roy Morgan head of retail research and social and consumer trends Laura Demasi said.
“Few could have predicted this scenario just one year ago. I can’t think of another retailer that has seen a hike of 30 per cent in customers in such a short time, especially now – other than Amazon, who is already mounting a fight back against these platforms at the global level.
“These numbers confirm that the ‘trading down’ phenomenon is real. Every month more and more Australians – both young and old – are trading down to these platforms to stretch their dollars further, redirecting billions of dollars away from Australian retailers.”