Over 90% of EU cross-border online spending flows to Temu, Shein and AliExpress
In 2025, European shoppers spent 55.1 billion euros on physical goods from non‑EU online stores, and 90.2% of that outbound spend went to Temu, Shein and AliExpress. The three platforms together captured 49.7 billion euros, which represents 90.2% of the EU’s outbound online spending.
Meanwhile, 86.9% of all EU online spending on physical goods stayed within the Union, leaving only 13.1% for cross‑border purchases. Merchants based in the EU sold 3.9 billion euros to consumers outside the EU, with 51% of those buyers located in Switzerland, 18% in the United States, and 10% in the United Kingdom. The cross‑border share has risen from 2.3% in 2020 to 13.1% in 2025, and ECDB forecasts it will reach 15.2% this year.
Last month, another report from ECDB indicated that Temu has broken into the top 10 online retailers in almost every European country. The company looks into ecommerce in Europe often.
What we know
Nine out of ten euros of online spending that left the European Union in 2025 went to Temu, Shein and AliExpress.
In that year, 49.7 billion euros were spent on those platforms.
In total, Europeans spent 55.1 billion euros abroad on physical goods.
This comes down to 13.1 percent of the total online spending by consumers in EU-countries.
The company forecasts that this year, 15.2 percent of online spending will leave the EU.