AMERICA's ruling to stop low-cost imports entering the US tariff-free is likely to hit fast fashion retailer Shein harder than online dollar-store Temu, thanks to Temu's wider product range and moves to change its shipping strategy, reports Reuters.

Both sites grew exponentially in the US in recent years helped by the so-called de minimis rule, a measure that exempted shipments worth less than US$800 from import duties. A June 2023 report estimated the Chinese retailers accounted for more than 30 per cent of all packages shipped to US each day under the rule.

The rule began to come under scrutiny during the Biden administration prompting both firms to start making preparations to rely less on it, but Temu made changes to its model faster, analysts and sellers told Reuters. Temu is owned by PDD Holdings while Shein is aiming to list in London in the first half of the year.

Tech analyst Rui Ma said Temu "rapidly expanded its semi-managed model" as part of its groundwork, an Amazon-like strategy that sees goods shipped in bulk to overseas warehouses instead of directly to customers.