Alibaba’s Taobao surges in popularity in US as Trump tariffs boost Chinese shopping apps

Taobao jumped to fifth place from 47th on Apple’s App Store and to third place from 144th among shopping apps on Google Play in a matter of days

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Americans have rushed to download Alibaba’s premier shopping app Taobao as the country faces 145 per cent in new tariffs on Chinese goods. Photo: AFP

Ann Caoin Shanghai

Published: 8:00pm, 17 Apr 2025Updated: 8:29pm, 17 Apr 2025

Taobao, the online marketplace owned by Alibaba Group Holding, is experiencing surging popularity in the US, as an intensifying trade war between the world’s two largest economies has led to Americans facing new tariffs of 145 per cent on many Chinese goods.

The app climbed to fifth place among free apps on Apple’s App Store in the US on Thursday, up from 47th place on Sunday, according to data from app analytics firm Sensor Tower.

On Google Play, it ranked as the third-most popular shopping app in the US on Thursday, compared with 144th place 10 days ago.

Globally, the Taobao app has been downloaded 2 million times in the last 30 days, according to Sensor Tower.

The surge comes as American consumers rush to download Chinese shopping apps, a trend spurred by online videos showcasing ultra-cheap, made-in-China knock-off luxury goods that have gone viral on TikTok.

These videos, which often feature Chinese manufacturers promoting the replicas, have sparked discussions online and caused a spike in downloads of other, more obscure shopping apps such as DHgate.

Known as Dunhuang in Chinese and dubbed the “Little Yellow App” by shoppers, DHgate climbed to second place in the free app charts on the US App Store on Monday – behind only ChatGPT – after not even ranking among the top 200 days earlier, according to data from Sensor Tower.