Shein drops US retail prices amid trade war pause

Chinese online fashion retailer Shein lowered its US retail prices this week after the de-escalation of Sino-US trade tensions to win back consumers, Bloomberg reported.

According to data complied by Bloomberg, the average cost of 98 products tracked on Shein’s website was US$5.56 (HK$43.37) on Wednesday, a decrease of 13 percent from a peak of US$6.38 on May 7.

Shein also sent a price drop alert to US consumers on Wednesday, saying that the price cuts covered a large range of goods, and consumers would not need to pay any fees related to tariffs or additional costs, the report said.

As the “de minimis” tax on small parcels from China and Hong Kong was lowered to 54 percent from 120 percent, Shein's lower prices strategy, which relies on direct shipments from China, can benefit from tariff relief.

The "de minimis" tariff for low-value shipments from China will be further cut by the US to as low as 30 percent, Reuters reported, citing a White House executive order and industry experts.

Previously, Shein had raised its prices in the US at the end of April due to the implementation of small-parcel tariffs, with some items seeing more than threefold price increases.

HELEN ZHONG