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E-commerce
AbacusTech

Chinese fast fashion shopping app Shein is loved by Gen Z but banned in India

  • Shein is one of the most popular e-commerce apps in several countries around the world, but it’s barely known in China
  • The fast fashion industry has been widely criticized over working conditions and its environmental impact

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Shein is a hot fast fashion shopping app from China, but it's much more widely used in other countries. (Picture: Chris Chang)
Xinmei Shen

Chinese apps are facing a rising backlash around the world, but one of them has quietly climbed the download charts from the US to Europe.

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Shein (pronounced she-in) doesn’t target its home country, China, and it doesn’t sell well there. Instead, the fast fashion online retailer primarily targets overseas markets, helping it pull in billions of dollars in sales last year.

Shein specializes in trendy women’s clothes that are mostly priced below US$20, with some items even selling for less than US$5. It also offers cheap household products, men’s wear, and electronics like keyboards, earbuds and smartphone accessories.

Shein says that thousands of products are updated on its platform every day. (Picture: Shein)
Shein says that thousands of products are updated on its platform every day. (Picture: Shein)
The company started in China’s eastern city of Nanjing back in 2008. Now it boasts a presence in nearly every country in the world and made more than 20 billion yuan (US$2.83 billion) in revenue in 2019, according to a WeChat post from Shein in February this year.
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The app has already become the top shopping app on the iOS App Store in a handful of Western countries, including France, Spain and the UK, according to data from App Annie. And it’s taken the top spot in some Middle Eastern countries, too, including Saudi Arabia. In the US, it ranks behind only Amazon.

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