

Shein’s founder and CEO is Chris Xu, aka YangTian Xu. While Shein hauls have become most popular on TikTok, there are plenty of examples of the practice on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and YouTube. Through its massive selection of quickly-produced, small-batch, of-the-moment clothing, Shein serves as a destination for cosplay as well as a variety of aesthetics and subcultures including Grey, Dark and Light Academia, Cottagecore, Grunge, Metrosexual, Rude Boys and Rude Girls, and Thriftcore.Ī Shein haul refers to the practice of ordering, unboxing and displaying a large amount of cheap clothing from Chinese fast-fashion retailer Shein in front of the camera for social media. “If a specific top goes viral overnight on TikTok… Shein will be able to instantaneously ramp up production on the garment and place additional orders depending on demand,” she writes in Vox. Nguyen highlights how social media is integral to Shein’s on-demand, small-batch approach to production. Younger consumers with trendy tastes and limited income are especially drawn to Shein, and the company uses an arsenal of strategies to quickly test the appeal of new products and secure online sales. Terry Nguyen explains at Vox that, “Shein’s ubiquity, most notably on TikTok, has catapulted the retailer to cult status among young women across the globe.” In fact, Shein is the most mentioned brand on TikTok according to Statista. Social media platforms, particularly Instagram and TikTok, have been integral to Shein’s success. Photo credit: Yuliia Barabash via Unsplash TikTok and SHEIN Hauls One reason Shein has become astronomically successful is the efficiency of its supply chain.įrom clothing design to manufacturing, the company maintains tight control over every facet of its business operations, and it makes effective use of automation, data analytics, and artificial intelligence to produce large volumes of clothes targeted at different markets. Shein, observes Packy McCormick in the Not Boring Substack, “makes Amazon look positively expensive.” In 2022, installations of Shein’s mobile app exceeded Amazon for the first time. It ranks second behind Amazon on a list of favorite e-commerce sites for teens. How Trump’s Trade War Built Shein, China’s First Global Fashion Giant, Bloomberg News As with so many online phenomena, Gen Z and young millennial shoppers have propelled Shein’s rise, in thrall to the company’s never-ending, always-changing catalog of clothes at prices that stretch even the most meager allowance. The United States is its biggest consumer market. With a global reach through e-commerce, it sells stylish clothes for men, women, and children. By the end of 2021, Shein had grown to command nearly one-third of the fast-fashion market in the United States. that has become a wildly popular giant in online trendy fast fashion, particularly among teens and young adults. Shein is a Chinese e-commerce platform owned by the Zoetop Business Co. About SHEINīefore getting into alternatives to Shein, let’s take a look at the cheap Chinese fast-fashion giant: What is SHEIN? While more than fifty percent of Americans think fast-fashion is going out of style, 48% of Americans don’t want to be photographed in the same clothing twice, and young adults feel pressure to wear a different outfit every time they go out. Statistics suggest that consumers have mixed feelings about fast-fashion.

While companies like H&M and Zara pioneered the rise of cheap fashion over the past two decades, a new breed of direct-to-consumer e-commerce brands from the United States, Europe and China have accelerated and refined affordable, of-the-moment clothing in recent years.Ĭompanies like Asos, Boohoo, and PrettyLittleThing, along with Chinese competitors including SHEIN, Peacebird and Temu, are leveraging TikTok, Facebook and Instagram both to respond to the latest trends via small-batch manufacturing and to push their own designs out via influencers and slick ads. Fast fashion sales totaled $68.6 billion in 2020 and could rise to almost $212 billion by 2030. The global market for fast-fashion is large and growing. What Are Your Favorite Alternatives to SHEIN?.Deep Dive: Review 17 of the Best Stores Like SHEIN for Affordable Trendy Clothing.Other Chinese Fast-Fashion Stores Like SHEIN.List: Trendy Alternatives to SHEIN for Cheap Clothing.
