Nearly half of Gen Z customers buy holiday gifts from Chinese marketplaces

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Diving card:

  • While shoppers are on the hunt for bargains this holiday season, over a third (36%) are caters to Chinese marketplacesaccording to a survey of 1,000 US consumers by marketing technology firm Omnisend.
  • Almost half (48%) of Gen Z consumers shop on Chinese marketplaces.
  • Temu is the overall preferred Chinese marketplace for 23% of US shoppers, followed by Shein (18.3%), TikTok Shop (11.9%) and AliExpress (7.3%), the survey found.

Diving Insights:

Amazon, TikTok Shop, Temu and Shein are in fierce competition for customers looking for savings. Four out of ten respondents to a recent Probolsky Research survey found that Temu’s pricing was “much cheaper” than Amazon.

In response to ultra-cheap marketplaces, Amazon recently debuted “Amazon Haul,” a section of its app and website that features a selection of products that are under $20. Most items are under $10, with some as low as $1.

“Chinese marketplaces like Temu have rapidly gained popularity among Americans over the past year,” Greg Zakowicz, Omnisend’s senior e-commerce expert, said in a statement. “Amazon has tried to compete with the launch of Amazon Haul, but small businesses face the biggest threat. Their prices and product selection simply cannot match those offered by Temu and Shein.”

Although Temu and similar e-commerce platforms are winning customers over with competitive prices, American consumers are hesitant to trust them. Another Omnisend survey found that 86% of US consumers said they trusted Amazon, but only 6% said they trusted Temu.

“While trust in these platforms remains low according to our previous research, the opportunity to save money continues to attract budget-conscious shoppers,” Zakowicz said.

Meanwhile, signaling customer overlap, 28% of Shein customers also purchased items from the TikTok Shop, according to an Earnest Analytics report released earlier this year. A quarter of Temu customers also bought items from the TikTok Shop.

With nearly 40% of Americans expecting to spend less on gifts this year, Omnisend’s research suggests that American shoppers, particularly Gen Z consumers, are turning to Chinese online marketplaces to save money. While nearly a quarter (23%) of Gen Z consumers said they plan to spend between $101 and $300 on gifts this year, nearly 19% of Gen Zers will spend between $51 and $100. Over 20% of millennials and 18.3% of Gen Xers also expect to spend between $101 and $300, but nearly 15% of both cohorts have budgeted between $300 and $500 for their holiday spending, according to the survey.