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Chinese fast-fashion platform Shein, which opened its first permanent store at the BHV department store in Paris in 2025. / AP, Yonhap

One out of every three clothing items purchased online by French consumers in the first half of 2026 reportedly came from three Chinese fast-fashion platforms.

Local media outlet Le Parisien reported on the 21st (local time) that AliExpress, Temu, and Shein accounted for 29% of online apparel sales volume in France from January to July. According to a study by the French Fashion Institute, this figure represents a 10 percentage point increase from 19% during the same period last year.

Combining online and offline channels, the three Chinese platforms, including Shein, which opened its first permanent brick-and-mortar store at the BHV Marais department store in central Paris last year, made up 8% of all clothing volume sold. Shein ranked second in sales volume, while Temu placed eighth.

Amid the growing clout of Chinese platforms in the French apparel retail sector, a small parcel tax implemented by the European Union (EU) in July has put the brakes on their popularity. Starting July 1, the EU began levying a 3-euro (around 4,730 won) tax per product category on small parcels originating from China.

Gildas Minvielle, director of the French Fashion Institute's economic observatory, explained that in July, when the small parcel tax took effect, the share of clothing purchases from the three platforms dropped by about 4 percentage points to 25%.

The French Ministry of Economy also observed a slowdown in the platforms' momentum. The ministry announced late last month that EU imports from the three companies fell by roughly 30% to 40% in the aftermath of the small parcel tax.

Platform user figures have indeed dropped sharply since July. According to the e-commerce federation Fevad and polling firm Mediametrie, July visitor numbers fell year-on-year across all three platforms, with Temu dropping 36.4%, AliExpress 10.4%, and Shein 42.3%.

Marc Lolivier, executive director of the e-commerce federation, emphasized that while it is encouraging to see visitor numbers drop across all three platforms for the first time, one must remain cautious because these companies are highly adaptable.

Meanwhile, apart from the small parcel tax, the EU will introduce a handling fee system starting in November to cope with surging small parcel volumes and cover customs administrative processing costs. This measure integrates the fee systems previously run by individual member states, such as France and Italy, at the EU level. The prevailing view is that it remains to be seen whether the handling fee system, alongside the small parcel tax, will curb the growth momentum of fast fashion coming from China.

                                                                                                             Lim Yu-jung