Attendance at Shein and Temu plummeted in the third quarter, weighed down by the tax on small parcels

Shein and Temu in full collapse in France. The two major Chinese e-commerce platforms saw their traffic fall in the third quarter, according to figures revealed this week by the Federation of e-commerce and distance selling (Fevad) and Médiamétrie.

Over the period, Shein only attracted 10.1 million unique visitors per month, or 34.6% less than in the spring and 47.8% less year-on-year. The site thus falls from 9th to 16th place among the most visited commercial sites in France. Temu for its part lost 28.3% of its audience compared to the second quarter - 37.6% over one year - and went from 4th to 9th place. AliExpress, another Chinese platform, held up better, with a drop of only 11.1% over the quarter and 11.8% over one year.

The decline becomes even clearer when we look at the daily audience of these sites: -44.2% in the third quarter for Shein, -39.6% for Temu. Not only do the French visit these sites less but they also buy less there, according to a study by the Joko shopping application covering 1.5 million banking transactions. In September, sales of Shein, Temu and AliExpress (in value) fell by 19 to 26% compared to the previous month depending on the platform.

This reduction is linked to the European tax on small parcels of 3 euros per item, which came into force in July. It applies to parcels worth less than 150 euros coming from third countries, and replaced the French tax introduced in March. “The next results will make it possible to observe whether this trend continues and to assess the possible effects of the new levy of 2 euros on small parcels, which came into force in the European Union on November 1,” notes Fevad.

The decline of these sites cannot, however, be explained solely by the “small parcel” tax. It had in fact started well before. Temu had already lost 12.7% of its visitors in the spring. As for Shein, the platform is still paying for the scandal of fall 2025, when it was pinned for the sale of child-like sex dolls and weapons. In November 2025, its sales in France had plunged by 54% over one year, according to Joko. Since then, customs controls have been strengthened and an environmental penalty has hit ultra-fast fashion since September 1.

However, the French do not buy less online. In the third quarter, the top twenty e-commerce sites totaled 52.9 million monthly visitors. A figure up 4.3% over one year. Fevad sees the decline of Chinese platforms more as a “rebalancing” for the benefit of other players. Thus, E.Leclerc climbed to fourth place in the ranking in the third quarter, with 20.1 million unique monthly visitors. In the same dynamic, Lidl and Carrefour grew by 16.7% and 12.8% over one year. Second hand is also doing well, symbolized by the sector leader Vinted, the fifth most visited merchant site between July and September, up 12.7% year-on-year. The sites showing the strongest quarterly growth are those of the specialist brands Decathlon (+6.4%) and Fnac (+5.3%).

Despite everything, Chinese platforms retain considerable weight. Over the first seven months of 2026, Shein, Temu and AliExpress still represented 29% of online clothing purchases by volume, according to the French Fashion Institute (IFM). Europe wants to continue to tighten the rules against them by making them “responsible” for the products they sell, via the “European Product Act”, expected in the coming months and which France is defending.