Temu & Shein’s Australian customer base keeps growing – as more Australians continue to trade down in the first half of 2024 in response to the cost-of-living crisis
New data from Roy Morgan capturing the annual shopper base of these ultra cheap online disruptors reveals the staggering numbers of buyers: 3.8 million Australians aged 14+ are buying at least once from Temu over 12 months, while 2 million are buying at least once from Shein.
Number of Australians 14+ who shopped at each retailer at least once in the last 12 months
Source: Roy Morgan Single Source data (3 months: April 2024 to June 2024). Base: n=16,621 Australians aged 14+.
Most Shein and Temu shoppers are return customers
Among those customers who have shopped on Shein and Temu in the last 12-month period, the majority are repeat customers (76% of Shein shoppers, 80% of Temu shoppers) – buying at least twice in the 12-month period from each platform.
Many are high frequency buyers:
- 42% of Shein shoppers are buying four or more times over 12 months.
- 48% of Temu shoppers are buying four or more times over 12 months.
Number of times people aged 14+ shopped at the retailer in the last 12 months period (April – June 2024)
Source: Roy Morgan Single Source data (April 2024 to June 2024). Base: n=16,621 Australians aged 14+.
The deepening cost of living crisis over the last 9 months has triggered a surge in the number of Australians shopping on Shein and Temu each month
Roy Morgan has been tracking the number of monthly shoppers on Temu and Shein since the last quarter of 2023. Over this short time the number of shoppers has continued to grow at a staggering rate: the number of people shopping each month on Temu has grown by 32%, from 1.26 million in the Oct-Dec 2023 quarter to 1.66 million in the April-June 2024 quarter (3.8 million people in a 12-month period). Meanwhile Shein’s shopper base has grown 34%, leaping from 830,000 monthly shoppers to 1.11 million over the same time period (or 2 million people in a 12-month period).
Number of monthly shoppers on Temu and Shein – Australians 14+
Source: Roy Morgan Single Source data (October 2023 to June 2024) – last three quarters.
Base: Average interviews per quarter, n=16,134 Australians aged 14+.
Roy Morgan estimates Temu and Shein together had close to $3 billion in annual sales in the 12 months to June 2024 - $1.7B for Temu and $1.1B for Shein
Much is said about the long-term viability of these ultra cheap retailers. However, if the growth in customer numbers continues in line with the recent two quarters, it is expected that Temu will hit, and possibly surpass, $2B in annual sales, and Shein will hit and possible surpass $1.3B in all sales.
Estimated Annual Revenue for the current year (July 2023 – June 2024)
Source: Roy Morgan Single Source data (July 2023 to June 2024). Base: Australians 14+ who shopped at Temu/ Shein in the last 4 weeks. Temu: n=3,064; Shein n=2,241.
Who is shopping on Shein and Temu?
The Shein shopper is still majority female (78%), in line with the platform’s biggest category, women’s clothing. While Temu has a much greater proportion of male shoppers, buying from the varied range of categories available including clothing, accessories & electrical goods.
Looking at age, almost half of Shein shoppers are aged under 35, the natural targets for fast fashion. Meanwhile the Temu shopper is older – more than 70% are aged 35+.
Breakdown of Temu and Shein shoppers by Gender & Age in 12 months to June 2024
Source: Roy Morgan Single Source data (July 2023 to June 2024). Base: Australians 14+ who shopped at Temu/ Shein in the last 4 weeks. Temu n=3,064; Shein n=2,241.
Laura Demasi, Roy Morgan’s Head of Retail Research and Social & Consumer Trends:
“It’s been extraordinary to witness the continued rise of these ultra cheap platforms, especially over the last 9 months where they have enjoyed the kind of growth that Australian retailers can only dream of in this climate.
“Few could have predicted this scenario just one year ago. I can’t think of another retailer that has seen a hike of 30% in customers in such a short time, especially now – other than Amazon, who is already mounting a fight back against these platforms at the global level.
“These numbers confirm that the ‘trading down’ phenomenon is real. Every month more and more Australians – both young and old – are trading down to these platforms to stretch their dollars further, redirecting billions of dollars away from Australian retailers.”
To learn more about Roy Morgan’s online and shopping data, call (+61) (3) 9224 5309 or email askroymorgan@roymorgan.com. Please click on this link to the Roy Morgan Online Store.
Margin of Error
The margin of error to be allowed for in any estimate depends mainly on the number of interviews on which it is based. Margin of error gives indications of the likely range within which estimates would be 95% likely to fall, expressed as the number of percentage points above or below the actual estimate. Allowance for design effects (such as stratification and weighting) should be made as appropriate.
| Sample Size | Percentage Estimate |
| 40% – 60% | 25% or 75% | 10% or 90% | 5% or 95% | |
| 1,000 | ±3.0 | ±2.7 | ±1.9 | ±1.3 |
| 5,000 | ±1.4 | ±1.2 | ±0.8 | ±0.6 |
| 7,500 | ±1.1 | ±1.0 | ±0.7 | ±0.5 |
| 10,000 | ±1.0 | ±0.9 | ±0.6 | ±0.4 |
| 20,000 | ±0.7 | ±0.6 | ±0.4 | ±0.3 |
| 50,000 | ±0.4 | ±0.4 | ±0.3 | ±0.2 |
