Before the European Union introduced a tax on small packages imported from China, the websites of Temu and AliExpress saw a noticeable drop in traffic in France during the second quarter of 2024. According to data from the Federation of Online and Distance Sales (Fevad) and Médiamétrie, the number of visitors to these e-commerce platforms significantly declined during this period. While the overall online shopping sector continues to attract a large audience, several Asian-based platforms, including Temu, Shein, and AliExpress, experienced a decrease in monthly traffic. Among these, Temu, a Chinese-origin “bazaar”-style site, saw the most significant drop in visitors. Temu, which ranks fourth among the most visited e-commerce sites in France, recorded a 12.7% decrease in unique visitors between the first and second quarters. AliExpress, which is ranked 11th, saw its monthly unique visitors fall from 15.9 million in the first quarter to 15.1 million in the second. Shein, ranked ninth, saw stable traffic during the period but experienced a decline when compared to the same period in the previous year, dropping from 4.4 million to 3.7 million visitors. These platforms have faced criticism for contributing to environmental issues due to the high volume of products they sell and for competing unfairly with European companies. Since July 1st, these sites have been required to pay a European tax of 3 euros on each category of products sent in small packages from China. According to the French Ministry of Economy, this tax has led to a drop of about 30% to 40% in the import of such small packages in the European Union, based on French customs data. Fevad noted that the results from the third quarter will help determine whether the new tax has had a measurable impact on the traffic of these platforms. However, the federation emphasized that despite the decline in traffic, these platforms still maintain high levels of audience engagement and play a significant role in French consumers' online shopping habits. In the overall rankings, Amazon remains the most visited e-commerce site in France, with 41.2 million unique visitors per month. Leboncoin, a French-based online marketplace, follows with 32.1 million monthly visitors. Other notable sites include Booking.com, a travel specialist, Temu, and Vinted, a secondhand clothing site based in Lithuania.