Ultra-fast fashion: Temu takes the lead over Shein in France

In a French clothing market marked by declining consumption, the Chinese platform Temu has just overtaken its rival Shein, becoming the leader in ultra-fast fashion since the end of March. According to the Référenseigne Expert Fashion study by Worldpanel by Numerator, this shift comes at a time when 72% of French households say they no longer feel like spending and are making shopping the first area of expenditure to be cut back. Against this backdrop, with overall sales volumes falling by 5.1%, Temu has managed to secure a record market share by redirecting spending – previously going to established retailers as well as online giants – to its own advantage.

This is highlighted by the study, which is based on observations of 12,500 individuals and 9,207 respondents surveyed about their spending between March 2025 and March 2026. The analysis shows that, in a French market under pressure where winning new customers has become almost impossible, competition between the two Chinese giants is now focused exclusively on capturing the wallets of existing consumers.

Having entered the French market in April 2024 – 11 years after Shein – Temu is reportedly enjoying meteoric growth. By the end of March, the generalist platform’s market share by volume had reached 1.9%, surpassing the previous peak of 1.7% recorded by Shein.

This momentum is said to be fuelled by a sharp acceleration in customer acquisition, with the platform’s penetration rising to 6.6% of shoppers, compared with 5.6% a year earlier. The study also notes that customers buy more per transaction, with an average basket of 4 items, compared with 3.67 items for its main competitor.

This breakthrough is reported to stem from a strategy of broadening the offer well beyond clothing, strengthening its positioning as a generalist, ultra-low-price platform at a time of mounting pressure on purchasing power. “The French clothing market continues to suffer from the effects of reduced consumer spending,” notes Worldpanel by Numerator. “In this context of sharp contraction, a new balance is emerging within ultra-fast fashion.”

At the expense of retailers and Amazon

An analysis of purchasing flows, meanwhile, appears to highlight a phenomenon of direct value transfer. All of Temu’s growth is said to come from market share taken from established retailers, illustrating a particularly pronounced cannibalisation effect. Shein is reportedly the main contributor to this redistribution, accounting for 12.9% of value transfers.

Traditional retailers and e-commerce giants are also bearing the brunt of this shift, with Amazon losing 5.8% of its spending flows to the young platform, while Kiabi and Decathlon account for 4% and 3.9% respectively of these reallocations of spending towards Chinese sites.

Unsurprisingly, Shein is seeing its momentum flag under the weight of controversies surrounding its business model, debates over its environmental impact and social tensions. This deteriorating climate is said to have led to a 4-point drop in its recommendation index. Thanks to its generalist positioning, which enables it to target customers beyond fashion, Temu is believed to have benefited from the fact that its name was mentioned less frequently during the controversies over ultra-fast fashion.

During the presentation of the half-yearly figures by the French E-commerce Federation (Fevad), which reported a downturn in traffic to Chinese sites, the Institut Français de la Mode (IFM) pointed out that ultra-fast fashion and second-hand clothing now account for 20% of clothing sales across all channels.