Are fast-fashion shopping apps hurting local economy?

[bluebit25]

Do you believe that their ridiculously low prices could be hurting the local economy, and why? Have you purchased from them?

I think it has an impact, but if we look realistically at the changing society, the e-commerce trend is bringing more job opportunities, and in terms of scale, the change may cause some difficulties in the beginning, but in the long run, I see them having many benefits.

Even in the area where I live in the countryside, many years ago most people only bought and sold through traditional markets, but the change in many different products has caused the developing locality to change according to the trend common in society, sometimes the price of change of traditional things also requires adaptation. Although I personally am not a frequent shopper, I fully support the popularization of e-commerce to reach localities, which is partly contributing to promoting economic development and also brings balance to the process of social change.

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[davis196]

I can assume that by "fast-fashion shopping apps" you mean the big Chinese platforms like Aliexpress, Wish, Temu, Shein and a bunch of others. I don't know where did you come up with the term "fast-fashion shopping"? Do you mean impulsive buying?
No, I don't think that they are hurting the local economies, because if you want to buy the same stuff and it's manufactured in your local economy, the price would be higher. There's a reason why those Chinese platforms are selling cheap stuff. All this cheap stuff has been produced by using cheap labor and cheap raw materials. Labor exploitation and slavery are the hidden problems of China.
Those apps are really good at marketing. Temu is brutal, when it comes to getting new customers. They seem more like a ponzi scheme, rather than a shopping website/app.

[naira]

Personally, I've tried to limit my purchases to items that are at least useful andusefulndom things that are never going to be used or have no use whatsoever, but still, I can admit that I've fallen victim to fast-fashion apps. It is being said that solely in Greece, they're receiving €250.000 worth of orders aday., At least a few months ago, when the article was posted, I could not verify the validity of those data, but it's safe to say that they're receiving hundreds of thousand orders per day in Europe alone.

Do you believe that their ridiculously low prices could be hurting the local economy, and why? Have you purchased from them?

Therefore, we must be able to review residential trade policies. The government usually makes laws regarding certain limits where it is allowed to operate around 5-10% of foreign products including imported goods and prioritize local products to advance the economy and increase state treasury revenues. Regarding competition in the world of trade society is also required to be able to adapt to technological  advances and little by little  expand the trade sector not only offline but must also be able to migrate to online trade. There's nothing wrong with why fast delivery is now prioritized rather than having  to take a car or motorbike just to buy a dozen cups. If you can buy online why not? that's our current habit, looking for practical options that save transportation costs, just waiting in  front of the house until the package comes to you.

[DeathAngel]

I don’t have any stats to back this up, it’s all just my opinion. I think fashion shopping apps can have negative impacts on local economies. These apps promote cheap and disposable clothing which leads to a decrease in demand for locally produced and possibly higher quality garments. As a result of this, local businesses and artisans suffer which can lead to job losses & reduced economic growth. The environmental consequences of fast fashion such as excessive waste & pollution harm local ecosystems & communities. By prioritising convenience & low prices over sustainable & locally made products fast fashion shopping apps contribute to the erosion of local economies & hinder the development of sustainable & ethical fashion industries.

[nara1892]

I don’t have any stats to back this up, it’s all just my opinion. I think fashion shopping apps can have negative impacts on local economies. These apps promote cheap and disposable clothing which leads to a decrease in demand for locally produced and possibly higher quality garments. As a result of this, local businesses and artisans suffer which can lead to job losses & reduced economic growth. The environmental consequences of fast fashion such as excessive waste & pollution harm local ecosystems & communities. By prioritising convenience & low prices over sustainable & locally made products fast fashion shopping apps contribute to the erosion of local economies & hinder the development of sustainable & ethical fashion industries.

Yes if we look at it from one side then obviously there are negative impacts as you mentioned, lowering the purchasing power of local markets, reduced employment, the consequences of waste and excessive pollution due to the large stock of goods that are not sold in local markets, but on the other hand this is the digital era, the times are modern and everything has become very easy, especially in shopping, people no longer need to go to the market to buy something because obviously there are some allocations or expenditures of money that are not needed, such as the cost of public transportation to commute or the cost of fuel oil in the vehicle they have.

So obviously people will definitely prefer something that is more accessible, economical and the quality of the goods is not much different from those in the local market. Of course that's from my personal point of view, and maybe one way for traders not to experience a decline in purchasing power that is not too significant then maybe they should keep up with the times such as becoming one of the traders who are also engaged in online sales and not just in physical markets.

[bangjoe]

Maybe we are talking about e-commerce, which is an application that provides many of the needs of the community online and anyone can shop easily and cheaply, this also happens in my country.

And if I notice that the market is indeed changing, especially in open e-commerce and with export merchandise, of course I think the local economy will lose, for example in home goods, of course export goods from China are much cheaper, and local products can lose if you look at this side, in this case the government must move to limit export products and give more importance to local products, or at least provide regulations so that market price competition can be competitive and not kill the local economy.

[btc78]

Do you believe that their ridiculously low prices could be hurting the local economy, and why?

Well there is definitely a significant effect of online stores to the local economy like you said they offer a much cheaper price for goods online compared to the ones you can buy locally so it is not surprise if these online websites do not take the same amount of tax from their customers compared to the amount of tax local stores have to take from their goods

online shops and local ones are in competition with each other and because of its modality which is much convenient for everyone, online shops are now much more in demand which hurts the local businesses which in result hurts the local economy

Have you purchased from them?

i don’t know if it has been normalized all over the world but in my country when you need something people don’t go to the mall anymore online shops are so used that the names of the online shops have become verbs now

[ZAINmalik75]

Personally, I've tried to limit my purchases to items that are at least useful andusefulndom things that are never going to be used or have no use whatsoever, but still, I can admit that I've fallen victim to fast-fashion apps. It is being said that solely in Greece, they're receiving €250.000 worth of orders aday., At least a few months ago, when the article was posted, I could not verify the validity of those data, but it's safe to say that they're receiving hundreds of thousand orders per day in Europe alone.

Do you believe that their ridiculously low prices could be hurting the local economy, and why? Have you purchased from them?

I never purchased from Aliexpress, and most of the dealers on Aliexpress are from China, and the big reason for me to not order from Aliexpress is the big delay in delivery like from 10 to 20 days, I don't know how much time it would be taking in your country, but here besides delay time, the fee is also very high. Other than all, things are really cheap in China that's because we can ask them to make things of any quality.

We just have to give them a budget and they will make our products accordingly, we as a seller then can sell those items to the buyers in all over the world, the cheapness of many products comes with some price that we sometimes have to pay with no item in the box, or broken item, even used item. And the biggest risk is if we receive the item after 20 days and we have to replace it for some reason then we might have to wait for almost 2 months maximum.
This whole thing made me think, why should I go for online buying when I have a store near me where I can buy the same thing by giving 10$ extra, where I can at least, replace it, and claim it after with no time delay. Online buying is not for everyone, and not every person prefers it, therefore local economy might not be affected to the level you have anticipated here.

[aoluain]

Just throwing this out there....

Looking at the offerings on for example Temu's landing page, the items listed are the type
of items which you either dont actually need or would buy only once.

Are these sites hurting local business, yes but probably not as much as we might think.
Yesterday for example I needed to use my "puncture repair kit" but the glue had dried out,
I went to the local hardware shop and bought a tube of it for €2.50, I'm waiting a week for
this by buying on Temu, so the local shop got my business anyway eventhough it was twice
the price of Temu.

[Davidvictorson]

Do you believe that their ridiculously low prices could be hurting the local economy, and why? Have you purchased from them?

Low prices of these fast-shopping apps doesn't for a moment hurt the economy. I'll tell you why. First, only a small number of persons use theses apps. And most of them are not going to be returning customers. Second, those who buy cheap end up paying huge amount in cheating fee. They are also in another way bring in money into the country through shipping fees and all. Nothing happens to the economy. It remains the same.

[South Park]

Hello there,

This is something that I've been wondering about for quite a while. What are your thoughts regarding shopping platforms such as AliExpress, Shein, Temu, and so on? I've personally used Aliexpress a few times in the past and had zero problems; it was usually something small and unsignificant, such as something for my bicycle or car. Cheap and decent quality for the price I paid. I had also noticed a period where Wish.com was being advertised everywhere, but I refrained from using it because I wasn't keen on installing an app just to browse their website. Similarly to Shein, it was everywhere for a relatively long period of time, and you'd hear everyone talking about it. I had installed their app, browsed through a few items, and then uninstalled it for good.

Here's where the difference was made: I did fall victim to Temu's advertising practices; their first user bonus, which I took advantage of a few times, bought me a decent backpack, which I'd find for €30 on Aliexpress, and a dish drying rack, which would cost me over €25 for one, along with a few other things. Most were decent quality, at least for the price paid, with a few being completely crap: some sunglasses, decorations that arrived broken, earbuds that died after a day,, and so on. I wasn't fond of these apps because I wasn't keen on the idea of waiting 20 days to receive some cheap stuff from China that I don't actually need. I usually ordered through Aliexpress if it was something I couldn't find here or was extremely expensive, while at the same time I wasn't in a hurry.

Personally, I've tried to limit my purchases to items that are at least useful andusefulndom things that are never going to be used or have no use whatsoever, but still, I can admit that I've fallen victim to fast-fashion apps. It is being said that solely in Greece, they're receiving €250.000 worth of orders aday., At least a few months ago, when the article was posted, I could not verify the validity of those data, but it's safe to say that they're receiving hundreds of thousand orders per day in Europe alone.

Do you believe that their ridiculously low prices could be hurting the local economy, and why? Have you purchased from them?

Of course they are hurting the local economy, as not only local merchants are seeing their sales reduced but even governments are not getting the taxes those purchases will bring, however can a person that is earning a small amount of money afford to buy their local products which are many times more expensive? Or as it is often the case, can they afford to buy those very same products for a higher price and pay three or four times to a local business? Most people cannot do it as wages are very low, and if you can save a few dollars here and there to the detriment of those local businesses then you have no other option but to do it.

[Ultegra134]

Ultimately a lot of these products are what ends up in your local shops anyway, just with a premium added on top. As long as you put some thought and research into what you're buying, don't just go for the cheapest option which can often be misrepresented or get lost in the mail. If you buy a cheaper item online it doesn't necessarily impact your local economy, as you might still happily spend the left overs on other necessities that you buy in person. A lot of people are very wasteful and materialistic anyway, so buy far too much junk. Beware buying stuff on places like Amazon or eBay if your stance is to buy from "local" sellers because it's much more hidden these days but you might end up buying from the same sellers that are on AliExpress or Shein.

I don't doubt that; I've seen stuff sold on Temu in shops here as well, and a large majority of these products are quite generic. However, if you're buying everything from Temu or Shein, you're not buying from local shops, and how are they supposed to make ends meet? I suppose that the same thing also applies to large chains and supermarkets, which now supply pretty much everything.

~Snipped~

That's actually a great reply and explanation. I'd send you some merit along the way, but I don't want to ruin your 4.000 merit score.  

On one hand, you, me, we're getting items at a steal. But consider the real cost. It's terribly obvious? Local enterprises are weakened by these platforms. Every time we buy a €5 item over a €20 locally manufactured one, we say, "Hey, I don't care about local economies." It's brutal, but it's the truth. Cheap imports are a tsunami smashing on our local markets

Discussing quality now. All of us have experienced these apps' hit-or-miss nature. Anybody remember a semester-long rucksack or earbuds that die like mayflies? Our greed for discounts is blinding us to environmental waste, quality compromise, and local artists and companies being slowly strangled. Numbers are reliable. Greece alone: €250,000/day? A wake-up call, not just a statistic. We are giving food to a huge animal that doesn't care about quality or the environment. Are we clever shoppers or part of the problem?

That's true; on the one hand, I feel pleased to take advantage of the bargain prices; however, after spending a reasonable amount of money on Temu, something that I'm not used to, I feel a little guilty. Supposing that I had bought these items here, I would probably have spent double or even triple the amount I spent. On the other hand, I believe that these websites push you to keep making purchases due to the excessively low prices. I'm quite sure that I wouldn't have bought all these items in the first place if I were to buy them locally.

I can't guarantee the validity of my statement; it's something that has been circulating on news websites, but I keep seeing Temu deliveries all the time in the past few months.

I believe that it does. I've seen an ad from temu before and that promising discount first purchase of a mechanical keyboard is what made me interested. But after downloading the app, it was too hectic as there's a lot of information that needed to be filled so I just quit it and it made me uncomfortable.

I've bought the mechanical keyboard for a few bucks, it's worth it. They don't request anything more than any other eCommerce website.

I don’t have any stats to back this up, it’s all just my opinion. I think fashion shopping apps can have negative impacts on local economies. These apps promote cheap and disposable clothing which leads to a decrease in demand for locally produced and possibly higher quality garments. As a result of this, local businesses and artisans suffer which can lead to job losses & reduced economic growth. The environmental consequences of fast fashion such as excessive waste & pollution harm local ecosystems & communities. By prioritising convenience & low prices over sustainable & locally made products fast fashion shopping apps contribute to the erosion of local economies & hinder the development of sustainable & ethical fashion industries.

Not only that, but imagine the environmental impact of all those products and clothing that are practically disposable, because a large number of them soon end up in the trash due to impulsive buying and poor quality.

[kryptqnick]

In my country, there are local online marketplaces that are popular for shopping online. Of course, you need to watch who you're buying from and what kind of things you're buying if you want it to have decent quality. Such platforms rather help than hurt local economy, I think. There are some people who use AliExpress, but it's usually for something you can't buy on local platforms, especially since delivery to my country takes forever. The prices are low, but the prices aren't everything. I do agree that if people use AliExpress to buy something that can be reasonably bought on a countrywide online marketplace, it's not good for the local economy because the money is getting out of the country and local producers and distributors aren't getting their share of it.

[slapper]

Personally, I've tried to limit my purchases to items that are at least useful andusefulndom things that are never going to be used or have no use whatsoever, but still, I can admit that I've fallen victim to fast-fashion apps. It is being said that solely in Greece, they're receiving €250.000 worth of orders aday., At least a few months ago, when the article was posted, I could not verify the validity of those data, but it's safe to say that they're receiving hundreds of thousand orders per day in Europe alone.

Do you believe that their ridiculously low prices could be hurting the local economy, and why? Have you purchased from them?

I never purchased from Aliexpress, and most of the dealers on Aliexpress are from China, and the big reason for me to not order from Aliexpress is the big delay in delivery like from 10 to 20 days, I don't know how much time it would be taking in your country, but here besides delay time, the fee is also very high. Other than all, things are really cheap in China that's because we can ask them to make things of any quality.

We just have to give them a budget and they will make our products accordingly, we as a seller then can sell those items to the buyers in all over the world, the cheapness of many products comes with some price that we sometimes have to pay with no item in the box, or broken item, even used item. And the biggest risk is if we receive the item after 20 days and we have to replace it for some reason then we might have to wait for almost 2 months maximum.
This whole thing made me think, why should I go for online buying when I have a store near me where I can buy the same thing by giving 10$ extra, where I can at least, replace it, and claim it after with no time delay. Online buying is not for everyone, and not every person prefers it, therefore local economy might not be affected to the level you have anticipated here.

Yes, we can walk over to the nearby store, spend an extra $10, and enjoy ourselves right away. But let's not forget about the bigger picture. The world market is changing a lot because of websites like AliExpress. They're not just a way to save money; they give you access to a lot of choices. In this case, patience isn't just a virtue; it's also a smart way to make money. Waiting 20 days? Think of it as a planned wait that will save you a lot of money. Planning purchases in advance? That's smart budgeting

The local economy and the world market don't have to be at odds with each other, though. We, as consumers, power both. We're not only saving money by getting only what we need online, but we're also learning how the global market works. Not only do you want to get a cheaper product, but you also want to learn and take advantage of global economic trends. Isn't that information and understanding worth a lot? Not only do we buy things, but we're also smart market players in a big economic game. Picking internet stores like AliExpress? That's the long game, and it's time we understood how valuable it is

[stompix]

Here's where the difference was made: I did fall victim to Temu's advertising practices

God!!!, there is so much garbage on Temu that probably hurts everything in the world not just local economies
- first that thing needs to travel a lot to reach you, pollution
- those things are made without any concern for the environment out of the cheapest and toxic plastics, again pollution
- sweatshops with the cheapest unqualified labor, near slavery
- they break so easily you will need to buy again a better on, repeat the whole thing
- more garbage in the dump as you throw it out a month after buying it, again polution

I and a lot of my older friends , talking about 40+, we've learned out lesson first with Turkish products that were so cheap in the 90's then with cheap Chinese things, the moment you don't buy from a westerns brand that makes things in China then you're going to buy something that breaks the next day.

And before somebody says a thing about how good chinese phones like Huawei were, the thing is none of the component were actually produced in China, even when claiming to go full domestic, only 53% of the phone is made in China , up by 17% 3 years ago.
https://www.vietnam.vn/en/huawei-mate-60-pro-su-dung-47-linh-kien-trung-quoc/

Buy quality, even if it's made in China buy some made under western quality rules.
As for exactly your thing, when the backpack breaks, buy a brand one, go for Osprey for example, I have one for 14 years, yeah it will cost you 4 times more but It will never let you down, stuffing it to the max that you think it will blow like a pinata and still keeping up.

[AicecreaME]

They also pay taxes, as well as the platform they are using.

So yes, they don't hurt the local economy. What's hurting the economy all over the world is our own government, especially because of inflation, which can be manipulated by people who has the power to do so. For what reason, well because of money of course, they wanted to collect money from their citizens in a "legal" way that normal citizens won't see.

[flyingcarpet]

Do you believe that their ridiculously low prices could be hurting the local economy, and why? Have you purchased from them?

The government collects taxes from every purchase, and the higher the shopping amount, the more income is generated. This is a situation that the state can choose and will not want to give up easily. The user also profits from these purchases because when he shops from the local market or from the site serving in his own country, he buys a product that would cost more from these sites at a more affordable price.

The more you produce a good, the cheaper you can sell it. The fact that the production amount is not very high in small businesses or local markets causes the goods to be sold to be expensive. Therefore, these sites are useful for the government and its users, but not for small businesses and local markets.

[Hewlet]

Buying an item from a site like amazing or even jumia doesn't make much difference as compared to the economic implication of buying it from a physical shop. At the end of the day, their exist a physical shoo where the item you ordered would be send to you from and so it's basically a function of convenience and and ease of accessibility over what ever conventional method that have existed prior to now.

I guess most of the online shoos still has a physical location and have undergone some proper registration from the regulatory agency controlling the region of their operation and the registration process might require a regular payment of certain amount either on a weekly, monthly or yearly bases depending on the revenue they are generating.

[demonica]

Environmentally speaking, there's a lot of negative effect of fast fashion but I can't think of any big effect economically. Cause when I think of its impact, it promotes international trading, and it creates additional employment or business opportunities locally. (Although products mostly come from other countries, it creates high demand in courier related services, and as well as retail). And since it's fast fashion, it tends to be cheaper than othe products, attracting people to spend their money. I've tried buying fast-fashion products and I'm satisfied with my items. Of course, knowing it's cheap, I don't expect much on the quality but items can still last longer so I think it's still worth it.

The only think I can think of on how it's hurting the local economy is that, it creates competition between local products. Since fast fashion are always in mass production, they can offer the items at a lower price unlike with some small local businesses where they can only produce several items that they cannot lower the price as same with fast fashion.

[jrrsparkles]

They also pay taxes, as well as the platform they are using.

So yes, they don't hurt the local economy. What's hurting the economy all over the world is our own government, especially because of inflation, which can be manipulated by people who has the power to do so. For what reason, well because of money of course, they wanted to collect money from their citizens in a "legal" way that normal citizens won't see.

Consumers is paying taxes either they buy online or offline because that is how most products are priced these days and in some countries, the tax rate varies but those products only can be bought after paying taxes so it doesn't contribute anything if one or another. The apps are increasing the opportunity to sell the product to wider customers than a local shop and no need to pay rent, or other fees because you can do that in your own garage itself.