A T-shirt for a few dollars, along with jewelry, shoes and accessories — all delivered straight to your door. For many young people in African cities, shopping no longer starts in a store. They scroll through Instagram or TikTok, see influencers showing off their latest purchases, and place an order with just a few clicks.
This combination of extremely low prices, a huge selection and aggressive social media marketing has made Chinese company Shein one of the world's most successful online fashion retailers. Temu, also from China, follows a similar model with an even broader range of products. For Africa's young, urban consumers, the appeal is obvious.
But as more purchasing power flows directly to Asia through these platforms, another question is becoming increasingly important: What happens to local retailers, manufacturers and jobs? South Africa is currently the clearest test case. Shein launched there in 2020, followed by Temu in 2024.
According to a study commissioned by the Localization Support Fund, the two platforms generated around 7.3 billion rand (about $405 million) in 2024. That represents 3.6% of the total market for clothing, textiles, footwear and leather, but already around 37% of online sales in the sector. The study also estimates that 2,818 manufacturing jobs and 5,282 retail jobs failed to materialize during that period, a combined impact of about 8,100 jobs.
By 2030, more than 34,000 additional retail and manufacturing jobs could be at risk under the study's modeled scenarios. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Simon Eppel, a research director with the South African Clothing and Textile Workers' Union (SACTWU), sees this as a growing threat to the domestic industry. He says Shein and Temu have gained a significant market share in a short period of time and put local manufacturers under pressure.
"They sucked up billions of rands […] in sales, and undercut local manufacturers," Eppel said. The union is calling for stricter controls. "In fact, we propose to ban these apps in South Africa," added Eppel, noting that the SACTWU sees such a move as one possible measure to counter the effects of the price pressure.
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