Why my bittersweet relationship with Shein had to end

• Published in: Technology review (1998) Vol. 126; no. 2; pp. 11 - 12
• Main Author: Yang, Zeyi
• Format: Magazine Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge Technology Review, Inc 01.03.2023
• Subjects: Electronic commerce; Hand crafted products; Mobile commerce; Shopping; Social networks; United States > US; China
• ISSN: 1099-274X; 2158-9186

Yang has been missing the online shopping experience in China since he moved to the US four years ago. He grew up in China at the same time that Taobao, a popular e-commerce platform, inserted itself into the center of everyday life. Whatever common, luxury, niche, or handmade products you wanted, you could always find them online on Taobao, and at a cheaper price than in brick-and-mortar stores. It really is the place of abundance. So when he noticed Shein becoming mainstream in the US over the past few years, he thought, Great! He finally have a Taobao replacement! But somewhere along the way, he started questioning why he enjoys this particular kind of shopping, and also what it means for an e-commerce platform to offer endless deals. Before he moved in 2018, he made a purchase on Taobao: five phone cases. He bought them precisely because he'd heard that small things like phone cases were much more expensive on the other side of the Pacific. He was not wrong. He paid roughly $15 total, and that included shipping from four different sellers. In the US, he could easily spend $50, if not more, for the same.