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Last Christmas, my partner's parents made an extremely generous offer: We'd been sleeping on a luxuriously cooling, king-size Zinus mattress whenever we visited, and they asked whether we wanted one of our own. The only thing we needed to do was pick a bed frame. Easy, right?Our first thought was to head to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ikea-cut-prices-deflation-red-sea-shipping-crisis-inflation-greedflation-2024-1">Ikea</a> and purchase our current bed frame in a bigger size, but it was out of stock, so <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/luxury-retail-ecommerce-online-sales-stores-wealth-the-realreal-2024-7">we turned to the internet</a>. Searching "wooden bedframe" on the furniture <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wayfairs-opens-first-ever-physical-store-take-a-look-2024-6">e-commerce store Wayfair</a>, whose tagline is "every style, every home," yielded over 13,000 results. Amazon gave us a smaller but not particularly more manageable 6,000, with sponsored or "trending" bed frames that weren't in our price range — or made of wood at all — frequently front-loaded. The task was daunting.We spent hours at a time clicking between product pages and toggling between search parameters, but none of the options ever lined up. Eventually, buying a new bed frame began to feel like a part-time job that neither of us had time for. Almost a year later, we're still crowding into our old, sagging queen with two dogs and a cat.We aren't the only people feeling paralyzed by making a purchase: On the Reddit forum r/Mattress, person after person complains of the time they have spent navigating a maze of distinctions, like "cooling" and "ultracooling," "medium" and "medium firm," or "memory foam" and "hybrid." For some, the task of buying a mattress was too much: "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Mattress/comments/194n1c5/the_mattress_industry_destroyed_me_emotionally/">The mattress industry destroyed me emotionally and spiritually</a>," one post read. "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Mattress/comments/1chv833/this_is_ruining_my_life_just_tell_me_what_the/">This is ruining my life</a>," someone else wrote.It's not just big, life-altering purchases, either: In a recent <a target="_blank" href="https://www.accenture.com/us-en/insights/consulting/consumer-goods-cutting-through-noise">Accenture survey</a> of 19,000 consumers around the world, 74% of respondents said that they had abandoned an online shopping cart at least once in the past three months because they felt "bombarded by content, overwhelmed by choice and frustrated by the amount of effort they need to put in to making decisions." This inability to commit to a purchase was reported by people shopping for clothes (79%), flights (72%), and even snacks (70%).Barry Schwartz, a Swarthmore College psychology professor, famously called this the "<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-too-many-choices-are-screwing-us-up-2016-11">paradox of choice</a>": While having a wider variety of choices can initially make us happier, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-the-paradox-of-choice-could-explain-why-youre-still-single-2018-2">the more options we have</a>, the harder it can be to choose the best one for us.Schwartz's 2006 book drew inspiration from <a target="_blank" href="https://faculty.washington.edu/jdb/345/345%20Articles/Iyengar%20%26%20Lepper%20(2000).pdf">a study</a> that found that shoppers in a grocery store were 10 times as likely to purchase jam after sampling from a display of six jam varieties than they were from a sampling of 24. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/quit-social-media-online-shopping-30-days-regain-control-productivity-2024-7">Online shopping</a>, which the US Census Bureau estimates accounts for roughly 16% of all retail sales, theoretically makes it easier to find exactly what we are looking for. But it also takes the jam problem and multiplies it by several orders of magnitude: We're inundated with hundreds and thousands of choices. With so much information about those choices, it sometimes can feel impossible to go on. What's more, experts say that many of the tools we rely on to help us sift through all of this information — from product descriptions to search engines to e-commerce filters — may actually be making the process even harder.The golden age of comparison shopping isn't so golden after all.The internet changed not just how we shop but also the number of options retailers can offer. Superstores that used to be limited by their square footage <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/warehouse-nation-boom-ecommerce-jobs-2022-10">could now fill warehouses</a> with thousands of items that would ship straight to customers' doorsteps. As a result, the retail landscape began to lean toward larger stores with more options.Jason Goldberg, the chief commerce-strategy officer of Publicis Groupe, said "category killers" like PetSmart and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-tumultuous-history-of-toys-r-us-photos-2020-8">Toys "R" Us</a> outcompeted the neighborhood mom-and-pop pet and toy stores of yesteryear — only to find themselves losing out to stores with even bigger inventories, such as <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-q3-earnings-shoppers-cheaper-items-high-frequency-good-business-2024-11">Amazon</a> and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-stock-price-sam-walton-family-wealth-billionaires-retail-strategy-2024-10">Walmart</a>. "In the history of retail, businesses with larger assortments have come in, and they've won out over businesses with small assortments," he said.Shoppers, it turns out, love the convenience of the one-stop shop. But that has left us with an ever-increasing number of options. "Amazon's doing what we think the American dream is, which is, have all the choice in the world," Jessecae Marsh, a professor of psychology at Lehigh University, told me. "But choice can be paralyzing." Part of the problem, Marsh said, comes down to the way our brain makes choices. When shopping, we typically start by looking for ways to narrow down the set of choices, such as by filtering out things we can't afford or that aren't the size we want. Then we look for a reason to pick one of the remaining items over the others. "When we try to make decisions, we want a reason behind the decision," she said.This helps explain why ratings and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/insider-reviews-expertise-in-product-reviews">reviews</a> have become such a popular feature on online marketplaces: When we're comparing two similar items, we need to find a piece of information that breaks the tie. A higher star rating, or a slate of glowing reviews from other customers, can be enough to do the trick. The trouble is that having more information at our disposal isn't always helpful. And sometimes, it can render decision-making more difficult.In a <a target="_blank" href="https://cognitiveresearchjournal.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s41235-023-00509-7">series of experiments</a> testing how the presence of diagrams influenced people's ability to correctly answer questions about topics like managing body weight, Marsh and Samantha Kleinberg, a professor of computer science at the Stevens Institute of Technology, found that while some guiding information could be helpful, too much information made picking the right answer almost as difficult as if the participants had received no guiding information at all. While the study, published last year in Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications, didn't focus on shopping, their results suggested that the more information we wade through when we're trying to make a decision, the more likely we are to come across something that conflicts with our beliefs, which complicates the decision-making process."If you've tried an Oil of Olay moisturizer, and you had a reaction to it, but you're seeing website over website telling you that's the best one, you're now in a position where the information that you're getting doesn't match information that you hold in your own head," Marsh said. "That conflict is always going to be hard for people because they don't exactly know how to resolve it."It doesn't help that the tools we use to reduce overwhelm may actually make things even more daunting. Raluca Ursu, an associate professor of marketing at New York University's Leonard N. Stern School of Business, told me that tools like filtering, sorting, and using recommendations could bog us down by revealing new factors to investigate, which leads people to search more — and, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/25674430">research has found</a>, be less satisfied with their choices. Search engines such as Google, which present options in a ranked list, <a target="_blank" href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1509/jmr.09.0481?journalCode=mrja">can also lead</a> to a "maximizer" mindset. "Consumers start to believe they can find 'the best option' out there, which can then lead to additional stress and decision paralysis," Ursu told me. The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/search-web-email-google-streaming-online-shopping-broken-2022-4">decline of Google Search</a> probably doesn't help matters, either.Ursu has studied two factors in shopping: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.anderson.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/document/2022-01/SearchGaps_UrsuZhangHonka_Dec2021.pdf">search costs and search fatigue</a>. "Search costs generally reflect the time and effort consumers require to obtain information about a product," she said via email. "How difficult is it to determine this TV's price and technical specifications?" While search costs are typically much smaller online than they are IRL, where you have to jump in a car and drive to a store, search fatigue grows when shopping online because there's more information available and more options to sift through. Ursu guessed that the most exhausting stage of shopping is comparison shopping — when people pore over minuscule details between products to find the best one.If people <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/online-shopping-coping-mechanism-target-pandemic-2021-3">abandon their shopping carts</a> because they get overwhelmed by search fatigue, it can come back to bite retailers. In a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.anderson.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/document/2022-01/SearchGaps_UrsuZhangHonka_Dec2021.pdf">study</a> that looked at browsing data from clothing shoppers in the Netherlands, Ursu and her fellow researchers Qianyun Zhang and Elisabeth Honka found that reducing search fatigue by half led to a slight increase in transactions. They also found that search fatigue tended to affect smaller retailers more than larger ones since people tend to spend all their energy shopping at larger stores first.In fashion, perhaps no company embodies the paradox of choice more than <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stitch-fix-subscription-clothes-review-work-from-home-2021-9">Stitch Fix</a>, which launched in 2011 with a counterintuitive business model: People who didn't have the time or patience to shop could undergo a virtual consultation with one of the firm's in-house stylists, then receive a subscription box filled with a selection of items that had been handpicked for them. It worked: By 2017, the company had gone public at a valuation of $1.4 billion, only to surge to a $11 billion market cap in early 2021, when many customers were holed up at home."Having someone do that front-loaded effort, that seems really valuable," Marsh said. It's the same thing we would do by bringing a contractor into a house to ask, "What are the options here to expand this bathroom?" After lockdowns ended, the company decided to introduce an option where customers could shop for individual items from categories like "jeans," "Lauren Ralph Lauren," and "workwear under $80." But since that pivot away from its core business, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stitch-fix-stylists-say-role-company-is-losing-flexibility-2021-8">the company has been losing customers</a> every year. Today, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/sfix-stock">Stitch Fix is valued at $400 million</a>, just a fraction of its market cap at its 2017 initial public offering. Goldberg, the chief commerce-strategy officer, said it's possible that the company's struggles are due to macro factors, like subscription fatigue and a sales slowdown in the clothes business. "Twenty years ago, you spent 6% of your budget on clothes; today, you spend 3% of your budget on clothes," he said. "People used to buy Stitch Fix for clothes to wear to work. You know what people don't do anymore?" Still, the company's decline raises an important point about the value of curation.Short of changing their business models, companies can make things easier on shoppers by simplifying their site designs, reducing friction during checkout, and keeping extraneous information to a minimum. Offering shoppers more personalized search results is another big piece of the puzzle, and the experts I spoke to say <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-amazon-is-using-ai-from-rufus-to-movie-recommendations-2024-7">artificial intelligence may be able to help us</a> winnow our choices down — that's the guiding idea behind <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-amazon-ai-shopping-assistant-rufus-is-like-2024-7">Rufus, a new conversational chatbot</a> from Amazon that answers questions and makes product recommendations. Of course, there's the danger AI <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-scam-spam-hacking-ruining-internet-chatgpt-privacy-misinformation-2023-8">will overwhelm us with spam and slop</a> first.As Marsh sees it, though, the most important thing is shoppers getting to a place where they're dealing with fewer options, even if they believe that more is better. "Whatever people think they want, they should have something a little bit less than that," she said. Marsh recommended researching a category and figuring out what product attributes matter most to you before you start shopping. She also suggested turning the decision over to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides">a consumer guide</a>, a retailer quiz, or someone who has tried a product before you. Many people already do this with<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-luxury-perfume-obsession-tiktok-fragrance-teen-boys-branding-2024-10"> beauty influencers</a>: If you have a similar skin or hair type to someone, seeing what works and what doesn't for them can help narrow down your choices.Still, deciding what to buy can be excruciating — even for people who study decision-making for a living. Recently, after an "extremely overwhelming" experience selecting a bed frame for her own house on Wayfair, Marsh said she realized she was going to need a new rug. "I started looking through the options, and I was like, 'I just can't,'" she told me. "We're going to have to go to a store. I just can't do it again."<a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/emilie-friedlander">Emilie Friedlander</a> is a journalist and editor from Brooklyn, currently based in Philadelphia. She co-hosts <a target="_blank" rel=" nofollow" href="https://theculturejournalist.substack.com/">The Culture Journalist</a>, a podcast about culture in the age of platforms.

'I just can't': Why so many consumers are sick and tired of online shopping

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Shein plans to sell its supply-chain technology to other retailers.</li><li>The strategy could help grow its revenue, but experts say the brand's reputation may be an obstacle.</li></ul><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-shein-path-ipo-climate-fast-fashion-controversies-stock-exchange-2024-5">Shein</a> is looking to sell the supply-chain technology that has been a big part of its success. Industry experts say that while it could boost the online retailer's revenues, getting brands to sign on could be an uphill battle.Shein has developed a unique on-demand manufacturing model that enables it to turn around designs in a matter of weeks, compared with the several months more typical among its fast-fashion competitors.Now, according to an investor letter from Shein's executive chair, Donald Tang, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wsj.com/business/shein-to-market-its-unique-supply-chain-technology-to-global-brands-32fa0ed8">in March</a>, Shein is looking to sell that technology to other brands and retailers."Supply-chain technology is a top secret for a business like this," said Evelyn Gong, an assistant professor of operations management at Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business. "People have been curious, and now Shein suddenly is willing to share it with everyone who's willing to pay for this technology, including its competitors."Shein was founded in China in 2012 and moved its headquarters to Singapore in late 2021. It's a private company and thus isn't obligated to disclose its financials, but Coresight Research estimated that it generated nearly $32 billion in revenue in 2023. Shein has grown a lot in a short amount of time, and its ambitions are even larger.It <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-shein-billion-dollar-fast-fashion-company-explained-2023-7">confidentially filed for a US initial public offering</a> in November, which is expected to be one of the largest public debuts in years. After facing regulatory struggles and criticism from lawmakers in the US, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/shein-ipo-new-york-london-us-scrutiny-listing-2024-2">Shein is said to be exploring moving its IPO</a> to the London Stock Exchange.Shein has also grown beyond its fashion roots, selling products in categories such as home goods, electronics, and office supplies. It has also opened up its site to third-party sellers in a marketplace model similar to Amazon's.But Shein's rise hasn't come without controversies — it has weathered allegations related to its labor practices and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/temu-shein-under-increased-pressure-from-us-lawmakers-de-minimis-2024-2">import strategy</a>, among others — that could hamper its efforts to expand to new business lines, experts said.<h2 id="71c04589-0e4b-4cac-91f4-c71ea2486d4c">A 'playground' for small designers and brands</h2>Shein works directly with more than 5,000 suppliers, mainly in China. Its forecasting tools and high volume of customer data allow it to stay on top of the latest trends.By showing it has consistently high demand for its products on social media, it can negotiate lower rates and minimum order quantities with its suppliers, Prince Ghosh, a cofounder and the CEO of the quality-control startup Factored Quality, said. This means it can manufacture only the most popular items and avoid sinking money into inventory that might not sell as well."Fast fashion has been around for a while," Ghosh said. "Shein, and now Temu and many others, really just built this modern version of it that they have owned a lot of themselves."<div type="image" title="A pair of black sunglasses propped on a table with a Shein tag." height="3712" width="5568" msid="110774600" hostid="261" sizebytes="462130"></div>That on-demand model could appeal to small, up-and-coming brands that might want to experiment with designs before they fully scale production. Shein already does this on a smaller scale through its Shein X program, which it launched in 2021. The <a target="_blank" href="https://affiliate.insider.com?h=c7c824610c2b39bedd55d2a22737e85669e9b35d9ab1c297d1b743007976e21d&amp;postID=6658e8e966bb31e50751c374&amp;postSlug=shein-to-sell-supply-chain-technology-experts-debate-challenges-2024-5&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fus.shein.com%2Fcampaign%2Fsheinx-story">incubator program</a> involves Shein manufacturing, marketing, and selling designs created by individual designers.Making the tech available more widely could help partner brands gain valuable insight into inventory levels and forecast demand. Brands that aim to keep their prices low while keeping up with seasonal trends could also benefit. It's often very expensive for brands to develop prototypes themselves, especially in the US, so using Shein's supplier network could be more cost-effective."It would be a pretty good playground for individual designers and small brands or startups that are just starting out and don't have the resources to set up an independent supply chain themselves," Gong said.Shein has also made use of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/shein-temu-de-minimis-tax-loophole-scrutiny-2024-1">de minimis, a provision in US import law</a> that allows shipments of less than $800 to enter the country duty-free and with minimal inspection. It consolidates orders in fulfillment centers in China and then ships them by air to the US in individual parcels. By doing so, it can avoid paying duties that more traditional retailers would have to pay when importing their products wholesale. Brands partnering with Shein could benefit from this practice as well."That's how they're able to keep that low cost," Ghosh said.A Shein spokesperson said the company's success did not depend on the de minimis provision."Our business model, focused on creating an on-demand production approach that measures and responds to customers' needs and preferences, is what drives our growth," the representative said.Still, calls to overhaul de minimis have grown louder in recent months. US lawmakers and advocacy groups argue that the loophole hurts American textile businesses and allows for illicit goods to enter the country. Shein has also said it <a target="_blank" href="https://www.sheingroup.com/pdfs/aafa-letter/">supports changes to de minimis</a> as long as they're fair.<h2 id="76aa076e-ab0d-416e-859c-0bf34ace2d9c">Brands might have some hesitations</h2>Shein wouldn't be the first retailer to diversify its revenue streams by selling its technology.Walmart <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-commerce-technologies-trademark-filing-job-posting-amazon-2022-2">launched Walmart Commerce Technologies</a> in 2021 to sell services such as its artificial-intelligence-powered <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240314754136/en/Walmart-Commerce-Technologies-Launches-AI-Powered-Logistics-Product">route-optimization</a> tech and its in-store fulfillment capabilities. The German e-commerce giant Zalando <a target="_blank" href="https://corporate.zalando.com/en/brands-retailers/platform-services/zalando-logistics-solutions/zalando-logistics-solutions-glance">similarly sells logistics services</a> to partner retailers.But Shein has reputational concerns to contend with. For one, it has drawn criticism and scrutiny following <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/shein-factory-workers-18-hour-shifts-paid-low-wages-report-2022-10">reports</a> that laborers in its partner factories worked excessive hours in poor conditions. Lawmakers <a target="_blank" href="https://www.rubio.senate.gov/rubio-investigate-shein-and-temu-for-slave-labor/">have called</a> for the Department of Homeland Security to investigate whether goods sold on Shein and Temu and exported to the US were made using forced labor, which would violate the US's Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.The Shein spokesperson said the company had a "zero-tolerance policy for forced labor" and required its "contract manufacturers to only source cotton from approved regions."<div type="image" title="A worker makes clothes at a garment factory that supplies SHEIN." height="3710" width="5565" msid="110774598" hostid="261" sizebytes="685120"></div>"We take visibility across our entire supply chain seriously, and we are committed to respecting human rights," the spokesperson said.Shein has also <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/shein-accused-using-shell-companies-to-steal-designs-new-lawsuit-2023-7">faced multiple lawsuits</a> alleging it <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fashiondive.com/news/shein-copyright-complaint/696575/">stole designs</a> from other companies. If brands work with their network of suppliers, experts said, it could mean sharing their detailed design information, which some see as a risk. It's not clear whether Shein would get access to its partners' customer data or whether it could use that data to inform its own product decisions."We are continually investing in our review process and are committed to driving industry-wide advancement," the spokesperson said. "Shein suppliers and third-party sellers are required to comply with company policy and certify their products do not infringe third-party IP."Working with established brands could help Shein improve its image as it prepares to debut on the public markets. CNBC reported that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2024/05/13/nrf-rejects-shein-membership-as-retailer-pursues-us-ipo.html">Shein had also applied</a> to join the National Retail Federation, the largest retail trade organization in the US, but had been denied multiple times.But if it's successful in selling its tech to brands it hasn't worked with before, Shein could expand its reach, Anand Kumar, an associate director of retail research at Coresight Research, said."Currently, Shein just sells the very low-cost products, but including various brands in its platform, it can sell products at various price ranges," he said. "It'll help to position it to compete with more global retailers."

Shein wants to sell the supply-chain tech it used to disrupt online shopping. Retail experts say brands may have concerns. 

<ul class="summary-list"><li>On Monday, Taylor Swift attended the Chiefs game in a plaid set from Vivienne Westwood.</li><li>She accessorized her look with over $46,555 worth of jewelry and $15.99 sparkly freckles.</li></ul>Taylor Swift attended her third football game of the 2024-2025 NFL season in style.On Monday, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/taylor-swift-world-richest-female-musician-forbes-key-difference-rihanna-2024-10">Swift</a> returned to Arrowhead Stadium to support the Kansas City Chiefs — and her boyfriend, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/travis-kelce-grotesquerie-character-casting-ryan-murphy-2024-9">Travis Kelce</a> — in their game against the New Orleans Saints.Swift attended the game wearing head-to-toe Vivienne Westwood, continuing her streak of bringing <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/taylor-swift-chiefs-game-outfit-jewelry-cost-item-breakdown-2024-9">high-end fashion to football</a>.<h2 id="48ea9522-19b9-4efd-85e4-0b0e7f5716b2">Swift rocked a plaid look</h2>The "Down Bad" singer arrived at the game in a coordinating set from <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/taylor-swift-debuts-new-designer-outfits-european-eras-tour-2024-5">Vivienne Westwood</a>, a designer Swift has been wearing frequently in 2024.The $1,875 <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.viviennewestwood.com/en-us/women/clothing/corsets/sunday-corset-top-red-check/1503003B-W00VM--RED-CHECK.html?srsltid=AfmBOoqevIdEP938Vxk8UqLNCWSkMegCkYGQBYkAnTd9N64m0pxDvzb9">Sunday Corset</a> featured off-the-shoulder sleeves and matched the $1,010 <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.viviennewestwood.com/en-us/women/clothing/skirts/meghan-kilt-red-check/8050889888482.html?srsltid=AfmBOoom53mu1bQ5UQNs_y_pEuVJfnGVTy_Rbq9wH6WEV4WavNsHGb5V">Meghan Kilt</a>. The set featured a red checked pattern that subtly nodded to the Chiefs' red uniforms.<div type="image" title="Taylor Swift walks into the Chiefs game wearing a plaid set and boots." height="2998" width="2000" msid="114055088" hostid="261" sizebytes="273678"></div>Swift paired the look with Vivienne Westwood's black <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.viviennewestwood.com/en-us/grace-boot-black/8050889995050.html?srsltid=AfmBOoofrL-GIgO6whK1XE2yBt9_m3pizqISCbPwbOB0kWX0sK0SEEEV">Grace Boots</a>, which retail for $1,270. She also turned to the designer for her purse, toting the $590 <a target="_blank" href="https://affiliate.insider.com?h=a3277c2143aa20476b359a53627a21fd7ae33da02b786c68f7452384461eac9a&amp;postID=6705317ed86164749865e3dc&amp;postSlug=taylor-swift-chiefs-game-outfit-glitter-freckles-designer-jewelry-2024-10&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ssense.com%2Fen-us%2Fwomen%2Fproduct%2Fvivienne-westwood%2Fmulticolor-belle-heart-frame-bag%2F15874551%3Fgad_source%3D1%26gclid%3DCj0KCQjwsJO4BhDoARIsADDv4vBfL5cbt6AcgRiUDnt3P49FIhKUqqPaimjR2LjI-I33qB8rV3QLsXgaArjmEALw_wcB">Belle Heart Frame Jacquard Bag</a>.Swift's outfit slightly coordinated with Kelce's pre-game look. He arrived in a $1,600 button-down from Loewe featuring an asymmetrical checked pattern in similar colors to Swift's set.<div type="image" title="Travis Kelce enters Arrowhead Stadium." height="3000" width="2000" msid="114055092" hostid="261" sizebytes="127630"></div>The singer's <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/taylor-swift-most-expensive-fashion-jewelry-worn-this-year-2024-3">designer clothes</a> were eye-catching, but her luxury jewelry was the priciest aspect of her outfit.<h2 id="bec631d6-a5db-46f9-b3c2-d8bd256c6c5b">Swift's jewelry for the game was worth over $46,000</h2>As she has for Chiefs games in the past, Swift wore several pieces of high-end jewelry with her outfit.She wore Vivienne Westwood earrings, selecting the brand's $210 <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.viviennewestwood.com/en-ch/women/jewellery/earrings/grace-bas-relief-stud-earrings--platinum-crystal-crystal/62010124-02P116-CN-PLATINUM-CRYSTAL-Crystal.html?srsltid=AfmBOooOv2VJaalM51gc-AGNU2peOeOD7mdqe8M0JyfvYNx11-5Y5E34">Grace Bas Relief studs,</a> but she mixed and matched pieces from different designers for the rest of her accessories.For instance, Swift added her $27,250 Agrafe Herringbone Twisted Necklace from Cartier and her $5,680 <a target="_blank" href="https://affiliate.insider.com?h=a915e62111f5f90ec33b25612fd7f1968ef3bf40fb4331639494a1033d66eee6&amp;postID=6705317ed86164749865e3dc&amp;postSlug=taylor-swift-chiefs-game-outfit-glitter-freckles-designer-jewelry-2024-10&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwovemade.com%2Fshop%2Fmichelle-wie-west-jewelry%2Fcustom-diamond-friendship-bracelet-yellow-gold-bracelet">custom diamond TNT</a> bracelet from Wove, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/taylor-swift-wears-diamond-friendship-bracelet-from-jewelry-startup-2024-1">which</a><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/taylor-swift-wears-diamond-friendship-bracelet-from-jewelry-startup-2024-1"> Kelce gifted her,</a> to her outfit.<div type="image" title="Taylor Swift smiles as she walks into the Chiefs game." height="2999" width="2000" msid="114055086" hostid="261" sizebytes="1129060"></div>Swift stacked two pieces from Jacquie Aiche, including the $5,250 <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://jacquieaiche.com/products/pave-emerald-center-eye-diamond-smooth-bar-bracelet?_pos=1&amp;_sid=8f6483945&amp;_ss=r">Evil Eye Bracelet</a> and the $4,675 <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://jacquieaiche.com/products/7-diamond-kate-smooth-bar-bracelet?variant=44046391738566">7 Diamond Kate Smooth Bar Bracelet</a>, and wore Shahla Karimi's $3,490 <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://shahlakarimi.com/products/cloud-collection-offset-pear-ring?srsltid=AfmBOopxDNXBqFdgkMujqs61ZhHAvENTjhcZBxQaloP1EmGbZsdnYVBB&amp;variant=40451854893130">Cloud Offset Pear Ring.</a>Swift also added Effy Jewelry's 14k yellow-gold band with a ruby heart, as well as a baguette ruby and diamond V ring from the brand. Pricing for the rings is not available online, as they were custom-made.<div type="image" title="Taylor Swift wears sparkly faux freckles." height="2998" width="2000" msid="114055094" hostid="261" sizebytes="293312"></div>The most buzz-worthy aspect of Swift's outfit wasn't designer. It was her $15.99<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://fazitbeauty.com/products/red-stardust-speckles-makeup-patches-spirit-collection"> glitter freckles</a> from Fazit Beauty, which come in gold, silver, rose gold, and more colors.Swift has been known to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/taylor-swift-eras-tour-outfits-ranked-2023-8">wear sparkly looks</a> on and off stage, from bodysuits to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/taylor-swifts-most-daring-looks-sheer-outfits-2021-11">gowns</a>. She even posed with a glitter heart on her face for the cover of her <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/taylor-swift-albums-ranked-by-quality-best-worst-2023-3">2019 album, "Lover."</a> So the freckles weren't a total style departure for Swift, but they added a pop of whimsy and team spirit to her game-day look.The brand's cofounder, Aliett Buttelman, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@aliettbutts/video/7423209246445145386">posted a TikTok</a> of herself crying when she saw Swift wearing the patches. As of Tuesday, the video had already amassed nearly 3 million views.Swift's outfit was worth over $51,316 in total, and her jewelry for the game cost more than $46,555 alone.The Chiefs won't play again until after Swift's Eras Tour resumes on October 18, so it may be a while before she appears at another NFL game. But if her recent looks are any indication, she'll be in head-to-toe glam when she does.

Taylor Swift brought luxury fashion to Monday night football in an outfit that cost over $51,000

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Luxury consumption in China might be low, but Gen Z does have its favorite luxury items.</li><li>A consumer expert told BI these are the top five luxury goods popular among China's Gen Z right now.</li></ul>Luxury brands may be having trouble making further inroads into China, but there are still some top items that Chinese Gen Zers are into.Antonello Germano, a Chinese consumer insights manager at Daxue Consulting, gave BI his list of the top products China's Gen Z is currently into.Here are his top picks.<h2 id="8cefd292-68b6-4cd4-a9c3-8968fbcee658">Gucci GG Marmont</h2><div type="image" title="A Gucci Marmont bag." height="683" width="1024" msid="112377728" hostid="261" sizebytes="65572"></div>Germano picked out the hottest items by analyzing sales figures on the Chinese e-commerce site Tmall, trends on the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, and online retailer Dewu.He focused on the handbag category because it "always accounts for a big chunk of luxury sales in China," and shoes because it is a "rising segment."He said there is a shift toward "discreet luxury," a growing distaste of flashy logos, and a liking for secondhand luxury items.The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.gucci.com/us/en/ca/women/handbags-c-women-handbags?filter=%3ANewest%3Aline%3AGG+Marmont">Gucci GG Marmont</a> bag collection, released in 2016, features small-to-medium-sized handbags priced from $980 to $3,980.The line puts Gucci's distinct "GG" emblem front and center, making it instantly recognizable. Germano said Chinese Gen Zers are interested in "brand values, culture, history, and unique design.""They favor trendy or 'hot' brands, are more likely to opt for niche brands, and show interest in vintage or secondhand luxury items," Germano said.<h2 id="df6e4991-3b25-44e7-8c98-b4a7070e97a5">Gucci Horsebit 1955</h2><div type="image" title="A Gucci Horsebit 1955 bag." height="683" width="1024" msid="112377722" hostid="261" sizebytes="21242"></div>The <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.gucci.com/us/en/ca/whats-new/gucci-horsebit-1955-c-gucci-horsebit-1955">Gucci Horsebit 1955</a> line, which ranges from about $1,200 to $4,300, doesn't have the "GG" emblem and is more subtle design-wise.That makes sense because, per Germano, Gen Z Chinese buyers are less logo-orientated than their parents' generations."They go beyond the physical attributes of luxury items, seeking recognition from their peers, staying on-trend, and expressing their values," Germano said.He added that, in contrast, "millennials and Gen X prioritize the tangible features of luxury goods, such as brand name, heritage, and product quality."These older Chinese consumers gravitate to "recognizable major brands," he added.Germano said the Horsebit 1955 and GG Marmont collections are "some of Gucci's most iconic lines.""I am not surprised they are so popular in China, especially now that consumers favor timeless and value-retaining luxury goods," he said.<h2 id="86ccb942-9fb6-4943-a060-69efb272b819">Saint Laurent Niki Medium</h2><div type="image" title="The YSL Niki Medium bag." height="3260" width="2000" msid="112377718" hostid="261" sizebytes="92786"></div>Germano's third pick was the Saint Laurent <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.ysl.com/en-us/pr/niki-medium-in-vintage-leather-6331580EN041000.html">Niki Medium</a> bag, which retails for $3,150. The simple, sleek bag with metal chains is from the French luxury house Saint Laurent.Germano said that while Chinese brands are on the rise, international brands like Saint Laurent still have a chokehold on the luxury market in China.Saint Laurent and Gucci's bags are "considered safe options" for Chinese consumers, per Germano."Local brands do not enjoy the same perceived quality and prestige as their Western counterparts," he said.<h2 id="3b5c3882-719e-4daa-b1d4-539aefde853f">Saint Laurent Le 5 à 7 Hobo</h2><div type="image" title="The YSL Le 5 a 7 handbag." height="3084" width="2460" msid="112377729" hostid="261" sizebytes="85654"></div>The Saint Laurent <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.ysl.com/en-us/ca/le-5-a-7-women?gad_source=1&amp;gclid=CjwKCAjwk8e1BhALEiwAc8MHiAd5xKvvE7XKJ3moZK7dSsTiG8qOmaAjG451uUqydj5JgwKY8xytPRoCz6UQAvD_BwE&amp;gclsrc=aw.ds&amp;sort=price_asc">Le 5 à 7 Hobo</a> handbag, which retails from $1,750 to $5,100, is another one of Germano's picks.The structure of the bags in this line ranges from a more rectangular style to a slouchy and tote-like form in its "supple" variation.The bags all feature a simple Saint Laurent logo and single shoulder straps, evoking the quiet luxury trend that has been popular in China for at least a year.The "<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-rich-go-for-quiet-luxury-stealth-wealth-2023-8">laoqianfeng</a>" trend is the Chinese equivalent of the old-money aesthetic in the West. It is characterized by simple, high-quality clothing and accessories while avoiding logo mania.Germano said that the shift toward quiet luxury was largely due to the economic downturn in China, which has reduced the number of aspirational middle-class luxury consumers who gravitate toward bold, obvious logos."As Gen Z resumes spending on luxury items and the middle class in non-tier-1 cities grows, there may be a resurgence of bolder logos."However, it is unlikely that that will happen anytime soon, with China's economy <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-economy-second-quarter-gdp-growth-weak-demand-consumption-exports-2024-7">only growing by 4.7%</a> in the second quarter of 2024 and missing analysts' 5.1% growth forecast.Weak consumption is the main cause of the slowdown, with retail sales expanding just 2% in June from a year ago, according to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-07-15/china-growth-weakens-more-than-expected-as-outlook-darkens?embedded-checkout=true">Bloomberg</a>.International luxury names like Burberry, Hugo Boss, and Swatch have <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-luxury-retail-sales-slowdown-brands-fashion-2024-7">reported low sales</a> in the latest quarter.Burberry's sales in mainland China fell 21% year-over-year in the most recent quarter. At the same time, Hugo Boss said in its <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://group.hugoboss.com/en/investors/publications/financial-releases/publication/hugo-boss-announces-preliminary-second-quarter-results-and-updates-its-full-year-2024-outlook">preliminary Q2 financial reports</a> on July 15 that key markets like China and the UK were "particularly challenging."And Bernard Arnault's LVMH, the parent company of Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Givenchy, saw its second-quarter sales <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2024/07/24/worlds-largest-luxury-group-lvmh-slumps-5percent-after-reporting-revenue-miss.html">drop by 14%</a> year over year, excluding Japan.<h2 id="11b9aa34-4b99-4638-9dee-9a27aa3ba4e2">Maison Margiela Replica sneakers</h2><div type="image" title="A Maison Margiela storefront in Miami, Florida." height="683" width="1024" msid="112377965" hostid="261" sizebytes="28548"></div><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.maisonmargiela.com/en-us/maison-margiela/men/shoes/replica/">Maison Margiela's Replica sneakers</a> are trendy among Chinese Gen Z-ers, Germano said. They retail from $670 to $750."In the luxury shoe category, which is particularly popular among younger consumers, Balenciaga 3XL shoes have lost momentum over the past two to three months, while Margiela Replica sneakers are gaining the top position," he said. Like the understated Saint Laurent Le 5 à 7 Hobo, Maison Margiela's Replica sneakers are simple and discreet enough for everyday use."Maison Margiela Replica sneakers became a hit mainly because celebrities and influencers love them," he said.They are also popular because they "align with popular Chinese fashion trends like clean fit, minimalism, and the old money style," he added.

These are the 5 luxury items China's Gen Z is going nuts for, a retail expert says

<ul class="summary-list"><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stores-closing-in-2024-list">Express</a> filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April, and it's closing 95 branded stores in the US.</li><li>I visited some of its NYC locations to see what the merchandise looks like.</li></ul>Express has been a clothing retailer staple in malls across the US for years but filed for<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/red-lobster-home-of-the-endless-shrimp-mulls-bankruptcy-2024-4"> Chapter 11 bankruptcy</a> in April and will close 95 stores.So, I visited two Express locations destined to shut soon. One thing I found: there's no need to rush to get these deals.<div type="image" title="Store closing sign at Express" height="968" width="1290" msid="109795025" hostid="261" sizebytes="41080"></div>Express was known as a place to get <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-employees-dress-in-corporate-goth-style-for-work-2023-9">business casual clothes</a> before the boom of remote work in 2020, but the style choices and high prices left me uncertain about exactly who its target audience is in 2024.That seems to be backed up by Neil Saunders, managing director of retail analysis GlobalData, who told Business Insider:"The formal and smart-casual market for both men and women has softened over recent years because of a rise from working from home and the casualization of fashion."He continued: "This puts Express firmly on the wrong side of trends, and, in our view, the chain made too little effort to adapt."The clothes I saw felt like they were in line with last year's obsessions — like metallic styles as seen at <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/beyonces-most-daring-outfits-on-the-renaissance-world-tour-2023-11">Beyoncé's Renaissance Tour</a>. Everything else also seemed a bit dated. Maybe I, a 24-year-old, am not the target audience, but I noticed that the options didn't fit the "clean girl," "mob wife," or "y2k" aesthetics dominating social media right now.I also work from home most days, so business casual makes up less than 50% of my wardrobe. But I can't say the slim-leg editor pants from Express fall into my ideal work attire.<div type="image" title="&quot;everything must go&quot; sign in express" height="3024" width="4032" msid="109795027" hostid="261" sizebytes="747094"></div>The other thing that surprised me when I visited the two soon-to-be-closed locations in New York City was the prices. Even taking 30%-50% off Express's clothes didn't bring items down to a cost I'd see as "affordable" — like H&amp;M or Gap.Although the signs said, "Everything must go," marking down a $248 blazer to $209 didn't feel more urgent than any other seasonal sale.Saunders told BI that the clothing at Express "is poor in that it is overpriced, lacks differentiation, and comes across as very bland."I wouldn't go so far in my description, but I think many styles could be found elsewhere at a much lower price point for the quality.Meantime, other than the big signs, it looks like business as usual in the Express stores I visited. The sales associate who rang up my items even offered to sign me up for the rewards program.When asked if it mattered since the store was closing, he said it'd take $10 off my total of $71 for the pair of pants and blue tank top I bought.<div type="image" title="Express clothes" height="2268" width="3024" msid="109795029" hostid="261" sizebytes="263240"></div>An investment group led by brand management firm WHP Global is considering acquiring "a substantial majority" of the company, according to a <a target="_blank" href="https://investors.express.com/news-events/news/news-details/2024/Express-Inc.-Receives-Letter-of-Intent-from-Consortium-led-by-WHP-Global-for-Sale-of-Business-2024-lZv7eKHbQO/default.aspx">statement</a> from Express on April 22. Some existing lenders committed $35 million to support ongoing operations.Representatives for Express declined to comment and directed BI to the news release announcing the filing. CEO Stewart Glendinning has said the company is "taking an important step that will strengthen our financial position.""Bankruptcy will allow Express to reset the business, including shutting down a number of badly performing stores," Saunders said.All in all, Express would need some serious overhauling to appeal to a critically online — and dare I say fashion forward — Gen Zer like myself. But it's a good place to stock up on some new job interview clothes at a (small) discount.

I went shopping at Express and saw firsthand why the retailer has filed for bankruptcy

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Online fashion retailer Farfetch is no longer selling Yeezy products. </li><li>Last month the upmarket site still listed more than 200 Yeezy products on its site. </li></ul>Farfetch has become the latest retailer to stop selling Kanye West's Yeezy products online. A simple search on its site by Insider on Friday produced no results for the disgraced rapper's sneakers and footwear. The platform was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kanye-west-yeezy-products-still-being-sold-on-farfetch-website-2022-10?r=US&amp;IR=T">still selling Yeezy</a> items last month and had more than 200 Yeezy sneakers, boots, and slides on offer. Brands including Gap, Balenciaga and Adidas have cut ties with West, also known as Ye, and pulled the plug on their partnerships with him over a string of <a href="https://www.insider.com/ye-locked-out-twitter-account-following-antisemitic-comments-report-2022-10">antisemitic comments</a>. Foot Locker stopped selling Yeezy shoes at its stores last month and said it would not support "any future Yeezy product drops." Adidas said on Thursday it was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/adidas-investigating-if-it-ignored-inappropriate-behavior-by-kanye-west-2022-11?r=US&amp;IR=T">investigating allegations</a> that it had ignored alleged misconduct by Ye towards staff during its Adidas Yeezy partnership following a report by <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/kanye-west-yeezy-porn-bullying-kim-kardashian-1234635221/">Rolling Stone this week</a>. It was not clear if Farfetch had pulled Yeezy products from its site over West's antisemitic remarks and controversial behavior. Farfetch reported an after-tax loss of $274 million in its <a href="https://www.farfetchinvestors.com/financial-news/news-details/2022/Farfetch-Announces-Third-Quarter-2022-Results/default.aspx">third-quarter results</a> last week despite revenue rising 1.9% to $593 million. Chief financial officer Elliot Jordan said Farfetch was "successfully navigating an unprecedented macro environment" and was starting to see the financial benefits of moves to reduce costs.Its shares have fallen by 75% in New York this year, leaving the company worth $3 billion. Farfetch declined to comment when contacted by Insider.

Farfetch is the latest online retailer to stop selling Yeezy products

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The average Shein shopper is a nearly 35-year-old woman, according to a UBS report. </li><li>She spends $100 per month on women's clothing, 60% more than the average US woman.</li></ul>While much of Shein's worldwide popularity comes from fashion-loving 20-somethings on TikTok, the average Shein shopper is actually 34.7 years old. According to a report by <a href="https://www.ubs.com/global/en/investment-bank/evidence-lab-overview.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">UBS Securities</a>, most Shein shoppers are millennials and Gen Zers. While the average Shein customer skews older than the influencers associated with the brand, they are still 13 years younger than the average American adult shopper. Shein is a fast-fashion online retailer that's gained popularity for its low prices on dresses, swimwear, and shirts. This year, the company was valued at $66 billion, and it generated $23 billion in revenue last year, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/fashion-giant-shein-raises-2-billion-but-lowers-valuation-by-a-third-1f8c316b?page=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Wall Street Journal reported</a>. It is also the second most-downloaded shopping app in the US in June, according to UBS Evidence Lab data.The average Shein customer is female, earns $65,300 in annual income, and reported spending $100 per month on women's clothing. That's 60% higher than the average US woman, UBS reported. Shein customers also shop more frequently than the average American, both online and in stores. Of the 684 regular Shein customers UBS surveyed, 30% said that fashion was less important than value and comfort, compared to 42% for the average customer. They also shop at Amazon, Walmart, Target, and T.J. Maxx.While price is the most important factor for all consumers, Shein shoppers prioritize selection, quality, fashion, and newness more than average. Environmental, social, and ethical business practices ranked among the lowest priorities for all American shoppers surveyed. Fast-fashion companies including Shein have come under fire for contributing to <a href="https://www.insider.com/discarded-fast-fashion-clothes-chile-desert-2021-11">overcrowded landfills</a> and for using manufacturers that have <a href="https://stories.publiceye.ch/en/shein/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">violated labor rights</a>.But recent data found that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/shein-shoppers-say-they-are-environmentally-conscious-2023-12">sustainability is a top priority for Shein shoppers</a>. They say they're more environmentally conscious than the average consumer, according to a report by <a href="https://newconsumer.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">The New Consumer</a> and Coefficient Capital, which surveyed more than 3,000 US consumers.Fifty-two percent of Shein shoppers said they considered caring for the environment to be a big part of their personal identity, compared to 47% of overall respondents. And 67% of Shein shoppers said they were willing to pay more for environmentally sustainable goods, compared to 53% overall.Shein has more followers on TikTok than any other apparel retail brand and is the most Google-searched apparel retailer in the US, according to UBS data. Analysts suggested that its low prices aren't the only reason for Shein's success and that product assortment, marketing, and supply chain could contribute to its growing market share.

Meet Shein's typical shopper: The fast-fashion retailer attracts older and more environmentally conscious consumers than you might think

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The fashion industry may soon face new legislation that requires sustainability transparency.</li><li>Cloud computing could allow fashion companies to share data and reduce production waste.</li></ul>Across the fashion industry, companies are steeling themselves for the potential passage of the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ebu.ch/news/2024/04/new-edition-of-the-sustainability-rulebook-the-green-claims-directive">EU Green Claims Directive</a>, which could happen as early as next year.The directive would require brands making sustainability claims to back them up with evidence and to label products accordingly. The GCD would have global implications, as it would extend to all businesses advertising to EU consumers.The GCD still faces multiple hurdles, but if passed, it would force long-overdue change in the industry. Under the directive, consumers should be able to visit a website or scan a QR code to see proof of a garment's fabric composition or how it was created.But before that can happen, brands need to be able to source and share sustainability data internally and with retail partners. Cloud computing could be key to doing this in a detailed and efficient way.<h2 id="b940d494-436c-4b45-b035-fdf68c792ba5">Cloud computing is gaining traction</h2><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/tech/what-is-cloud-computing">Cloud computing offers on-demand services</a>, from storage to software, over the internet. It's been billed as a major cost-cutting measure for companies because they can pay for the services they need, rather than rely on in-house servers. It's also a way to streamline processes by collecting data into one easily accessible hub.The cloud-computing industry is growing rapidly, and analysts predict it could <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/cloud-computing-market">more than double</a> in value between now and 2029. And the fashion industry has gradually been waking up to the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/artificial-intelligence-technology-sustainable-textile-recycling-solutions-2024-6">potential of cloud computing</a>. In recent years, heavyweights like Mulberry and Net-a-Porter have begun working with Eon, a cloud-powered tech company that specializes in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.eon.xyz/press/top-fashion-brands-introduce-digital-ids-powered-by-eon-to-unlock-intelligence-commerce-and-sustainability">Digital IDs</a>, QR-code labels that can be scanned for detailed information, product authentication, and customer-focused extras, such as suggestions on how to style the looks. Meanwhile, <a target="_blank" href="https://dressx.com/">DressX</a>, which allows users to "wear" digital garments in photos and videos, uses Google Cloud.Still, there's been little focus on cloud computing when it comes to sustainability data. Bharati Rathore, a management lecturer at the University of South Wales, is one expert who's spreading the word. In her report, "Fashion Transformation 4.0: Beyond Digitalization &amp; Marketing in Fashion Industry," she said that <a target="_blank" href="https://eduzonejournal.com/index.php/eiprmj/article/view/234">the fashion industry must embrace new technologies</a> in order to survive.Rathore said cloud computing is a way to "store and manage large volumes of data efficiently — everything from customer preferences and purchasing behavior to inventory levels and supply chain details." She added that it offered a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-google-microsoft-ai-future-data-centers-monopoly-tech-industry-2024-6">central place for data sharing</a>, making it easier for workers around the world — design teams and retail managers, for example — to stay up-to-date with each other.If <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cloud-industry-splitting-into-2-distinct-parts-2024-2">harnessed properly</a>, cloud computing is one of a handful of digital tools that could "revolutionize the way we design, produce, and consume fashion," Rathore said in her report.<h2 id="9e95c438-fbb2-4b1e-b73f-185219145eb5">Moving toward transparency</h2>It's no secret that the fashion industry has historically shied <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fast-fashions-mountain-leftover-clothes-chile-desert-seen-from-space-2023-5">away from transparency</a>. This is slowly changing, thanks partly to companies like Fashion Cloud, an insights platform that works with over 700 fashion brands and 25,000 retailers.Using cloud computing, Fashion Cloud collects data and insights, and then makes them easily accessible for all parties — from website designers, who upload and describe products onto brand websites, to retail managers, who handle shop-floor operations. The company works with brands from the mass-market online retailer Zalando, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/370657/zalando-active-buyers/">which averages around 50 million customers per quarter</a>, to Studio Anneloes, a Dutch design house that features a "footprint" tab on every product that indicates its environmental impact."Fashion is a terribly old-fashioned industry," Alies ter Kuile, the cofounder of Fashion Cloud, said. "Every retailer has their own process, so nothing is standardized. What we do is ensure retailers are getting key product and sustainability data from brands, and we help brands on that journey, too."The GCD is intended to be a crack down on greenwashing and vague, hard-to-substantiate <a target="_blank" href="https://www.greenpeace.org.uk/news/fashion-greenwash-report-companies-hiding-true-environmental-costs-fast-fashion/">claims of "eco-friendly" clothes</a>, but it's a huge hurdle for brands accustomed to opacity. According to ter Kuile, only 50 of the brands that Fashion Cloud works with "share sustainability data in an automated way." Meanwhile, she added, "another 350 have the sustainability data, but they can't share it yet."Communication is a core issue when it comes to letting customers know exactly <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-fashion-trends-artificial-intelligence-style-brands-2024-2">where their clothes come from</a>. "Brands and retailers are asking for the same information," ter Kuile said, referring to where the clothes were made and how many units have been sold. "But they're currently doing that in different spreadsheets. We're trying to automate these processes."<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/artificial-intelligence-helping-amazon-shopify-sellers-2023-11">Simplicity is key</a>, too. Ter Kuile said the average age of fashion buyers — retail reps who decide which pieces are stocked in department stores and online shops — is between 50 and 60. "Typically, the people using our tools are people who don't like software, so everything needs to be intuitive," she added. "You can't have five different brands with five passwords — forget about it! The process has to be the same, and it has to be simple."<h2 id="4dcaf6a8-3aaa-4f02-91c2-da9768b9bb56">Benefits for clothing retailers</h2>Cloud computing also provides key benefits for retailers. "For fashion retailers, quick, data-driven decisions are essential for inventory management, store expansion, and market adaptation," Alan Holcroft, the UK manager of Cegid, a cloud-computing business, told Business Insider. Cegid supports over 85,000 retailers, including the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cegid.com/global/case-studies/how-french-fashion-house-cotelac-win-customers-with-omnichannel-across-all-touchpoints/">French fashion retailer Cotélac</a>.Easy access to buying data means retailers are more likely to purchase only what they can realistically sell. For example, if a dress has moved only 10 units in one location in a month, it's wildly unrealistic to buy 500 and expect them to be sold. With cloud computing, retailers can avoid overbuying stock — a key driver of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fast-fashion-christmas-shopping-clothes-returns-shein-zara-waste-mountain-2022-12">fashion's textile-waste problem</a>. (It's no secret that brands would sometimes <a target="_blank" href="https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/the-destruction-of-returned-and">rather set fire to unsold stock</a> than discount their prices.)None of this is to say that cloud computing is inherently sustainable. Steven Gonzalez Monserrate, a cloud anthropologist, said in a <a target="_blank" href="https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/the-staggering-ecological-impacts-of-computation-and-the-cloud/">2022 research report</a> that data storage has a "greater carbon footprint than the airline industry." Cloud computing is reliant on data centers, which require energy-intensive air conditioning to prevent servers from overheating. These centers also require irrigation, sometimes <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-water-use-soaring-ai-make-it-worse-data-centers-2023-7">guzzling up water</a> resources needed by local communities.There are still many fashion brands that seem ill-equipped to address the GCD's requirements. Ter Kuile said part of the problem is that too many conversations in the fashion industry focus on abstractions rather than action.Data-sharing through cloud computing — while by no means perfect — is a practical step that allows information to be tracked at every level of product creation and, crucially, shared with customers who need it."We don't need inspiration to be more sustainable and transparent," ter Kuile said. "We need processes that enable us to actually do it."

The fashion industry needs better sourcing and waste practices — fast. Cloud computing could be a long-term fix.       

<ul class="summary-list"><li>As of January 8, Chinese citizens may travel out of the country freely for the first time in years. </li><li>More flights to and from China could make sending packages from China to the US faster and cheaper.</li></ul>On Sunday Jan. 8, many Chinese travelers were able to leave the country for the first time in years. Even in the first few days following the policy change, enthusiasm is palpable. <a href="https://www.trip.com/newsroom/trip-com-group-data-shows-outbound-flight-bookings-surge-from-mainland-china-a-spike-in-demand-expected-for-upcoming-lunar-new-year-break/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Travel booking platform Trip.com</a> reported that international bookings shot up 257% the day officals announced the January 8 opening date. And along with citizens eager to reconnect with the world, the change is garnering cheers from the e-commerce industry, too. Though there are plenty of dedicated cargo flights in and out of China, more than half of air cargo worldwide travels in the belly of passenger planes. Without regular passenger flights, the price to move cargo via plane in and out of China has been sky-high. The fall has started though, and experts expect rates to keep going down.More passenger flights mean more cargo capacity, which adds up to cheaper, faster shipping for Chinese e-commerce companies like Shein and Alibaba and the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/packages-shipped-from-china-to-us-consumers-supply-chain-snarls">US logistics companies helping them</a> take a bite out of the American market.Gap is one retailer already enjoying <a href="https://www.supplychaindive.com/news/gap-financial-benefits-lower-air-freight-rates-q3-burlington-retail/637785/">easing of air freight rates</a>. The retailer told investors on its November 17 earnings call that falling air freight rates boosted its profit margins — and it expects the benefits to continue as rates fall even more next year.Chinese online retailers stand to benefit even more, said Brian Bourke, chief commercial officer of Seko Logistics, a freight forwarding company that manages transportation for Shein, among other US and Chinese e-commerce giants. Shein has become a dominant fast fashion brand in the US in part by focusing on the small but <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/packages-shipped-from-china-to-us-consumers-supply-chain-snarls">fast-growing field</a> of cross-border e-commerce logistics, even though its packages come all the way from China. But shipping is still slow compared to US online stores. Shein's US president George Chiao <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/fast-fashion-giant-shein-plans-more-u-s-distribution-centers-as-sales-climb-11663236002">told the Wall Street Journal</a> in September that the company is in the process of shaving three to four days off normal shipping times of 10 to 15 days. In China's $2.6 trillion e-commerce market, two-day delivery is table stakes. Meeting that speed for the US is a priority for Chinese companies that are serious about grabbing American consumers, Bourke told Insider.Cheaper air cargo rates are likely to encourage even more investment in speed from Shein and others. And since US package carriers like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ups-fedex-ecommerce-slowdown-post-pandmic-2022-5">UPS and FedEx have been trying hard</a> to hold onto the high prices they were able to charge during the pandemic, international shippers now have a better chance of competing. "It's so expensive to ship from the US to US consumers," Bourke said. "Imagine if all of a sudden all this capacity opened up and you can do a lot from China. Then they could beat a lot of the domestic retailers on price point."

How the end of China's travel lockdown could boost online retail powerhouses like Shein

Swifties are in their shopping era.From buying <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/taylor-swift-fan-collected-rare-snow-globe-merchandise-2023-12">rare Taylor Swift merchandise</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/taylor-swift-eras-tour-cost-of-tickets-for-multiple-shows-2023-8">expensive Eras Tour tickets</a> to bejeweled <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-music-fans-are-making-concert-fashion-sustainable-2023-8">concert outfits</a>, no cost has been too high for her most dedicated fans in recent months.All the while, Swift has been embracing her new status as a WAG, the phrase used to describe wives and girlfriends of professional athletes. She attended 12 Kansas City Chiefs games during the regular season to support her boyfriend, NFL star Travis Kelce, and her fashion choices stole the show each time.Some of her looks mixed designer coats with Louboutin shoes, while others focused on Chiefs gear and affordable jewelry. Every time, she looked like <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/taylor-swift-style-why-people-care-about-what-she-wears-2023-10">the ultimate girl next door,</a> and Swifties couldn't get enough.In fact, they've been so invested in her football looks that thousands have purchased matching pieces for themselves and wiped inventory from brand warehouses in the process.Shop owners and designers told Business Insider that interest in Swift-worn pieces is so high that they've been unable to catch their breaths, even weeks after the singer promoted their businesses.And with the Super Bowl on the horizon, many are bracing themselves for the next wave of the Taylor Effect.<div type="image" title="Taylor Swift Chiefs" height="2661" width="3992" msid="107557894" hostid="261" sizebytes="257080"></div><h2>Taylor Swift and small businesses</h2>Westside Storey has been a staple of Kansas City, Missouri, for over a decade. The boutique offers a range of apparel, artisan products, and Kansas City-themed merchandise that tourists and locals love.But everything changed when an online shopper bought $1,200 worth of vintage sweatshirts from the shop in October 2023. The owner, Chris Harrington, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/taylor-swift-vintage-chiefs-sweatshirt-local-business-2023-12">initially thought the charge was fraudulent</a> before realizing it was "tied to Taylor Swift somehow," he previously told BI.His suspicion was confirmed when Swift wore one of the sweatshirts to a game in December — and business exploded.<div type="image" title="Taylor Swift in a stand at a football game." height="1086" width="1630" msid="107557897" hostid="261" sizebytes="112058"></div>Fourty-eight hours later, Westside Storey had hundreds of orders and its best December sales to date, Harrington said. Interest hasn't slowed in the weeks since."During a live drop on our website pre-Taylor, we would have about 30 to 50 people shopping, and we'd sell about half the items," he said. "The last couple of drops, we've had anywhere from 1,200 to 1,500 people on the website, and stuff sells out in five minutes."Harrington is even more surprised by the real-life impact of Swift's business."People are still coming in because they heard about Westside Storey, and they don't even want a vintage sweatshirt," he said. "They just want any item from Westside Storey, anything associated with Taylor." Emily Bordner, the founder of the Kansas City boutique <a target="_blank" href="https://ebandcompany.com/">EB and Co.</a>, experienced the same phenomenon in late January when Swift wore a jersey-shaped ring with Kelce's number, 87, on it to the AFC Championship game between the Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens.The <a target="_blank" href="https://ebandcompany.com/collections/kansas-city-collection/products/kansas-city-chiefs-87-tight-end-jersey-ring">$14 ring</a> was designed by Bordner for her store and was later gifted to Donna Kelce, among other jewelry, in the hopes she'd wear it and share pieces with Swift.<div type="image" title="Taylor Swift hugs Travis Kelce while wearing an EB and Co. ring." height="877" width="1316" msid="107557899" hostid="261" sizebytes="84646"></div>What Bordner didn't expect was the swarm of Swifties who followed when the musician actually did."We immediately sold out of the hundred we had on hand within the first 30 minutes," she said of Swift being photographed wearing the ring. "Now, we have close to 1,200 on preorder."Bordner said EB and Co. received so many online orders — rings and other items — that she had to close her store for half a day to catch up, posting a sign on the door that read, "We are closed today due to Taylor Swift.""It was our best day, our best week, our best month ever," she said. "My life has changed, and I know that my business has fundamentally changed."<div type="image" title="Emily Bordner (left) and the sign she left on the EB and Co. door." height="1080" width="1440" msid="107558120" hostid="261" sizebytes="109174"></div>Westside Storey and EB and Co. are just two of the many small businesses impacted by Swift and her fans.Harrington said his girlfriend and partner, Kathryn Cacho, has sold 300 beanies through her brand Kut the Knit after <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C09q3Y0JHJV/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link">Swift wore one of her designs</a> in December.<div type="image" title="taylor swift chiefs game" height="1240" width="1861" msid="107558122" hostid="261" sizebytes="163076"></div>"That was honestly even more insane," Harrington said of the experience. "It was really cool for us to sell the vintage sweatshirt, but in retrospect, it's not like we created and designed it. We just found it, and she supported us. But when Kathryn included her beanie in the order, she put her little Kut the Knit card in there. So for Taylor to almost endorse the brand and knowingly wear that product is just another level."Missouri-based bracelet brand Erimish sold thousands of the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cyvy0e_x77t/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link">exact design Swift wore</a> in October when the Chiefs played the Los Angeles Chargers, the cofounder, Misha Wilson, told BI. She added that sales overall have increased around 3,000%.And Wove, the luxury jewelry brand that created <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/taylor-swift-wears-diamond-friendship-bracelet-from-jewelry-startup-2024-1">the "TNT" bracelet Swift wore</a> while hugging Kelce on the field after the AFC Championship game, earned six figures in sales as a result of Swift, according to the CEO, Simone Kendle."Our site traffic has increased 5,000%. Our social-media followers more than doubled, and our jewelry sales are up over 2,000%," she told BI.<div type="image" title="Diamond tennis bracelets made for Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce by Wove." height="1470" width="2000" msid="107558125" hostid="261" sizebytes="201060"></div>Westside Storey and EB and Co. said they have also hired more employees to help meet the demands of Swiftie shoppers, while Erimish extended its employee hours."We usually have a little bit of downtime for everybody to take off during the holidays, but our girls have been busy," Wilson said."She's a blessing without even knowing it," she added of Swift.<h2>A boost for big business</h2>Major fashion and accessory brands are also benefiting from Swift's army of fans.Part of the musician's coveted outfit at the AFC Championship game in January was <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://affiliate.insider.com?h=e518eb2067b3668d61ecfeb96442dc62dd78fef6bf357ed2f0c62b4b6c899e26&amp;postID=65c4dff8ee61557013fcabb3&amp;postSlug=taylor-swift-football-outfits-are-huge-for-fashion-brands-2024-2&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.baublebar.com%2Fproducts%2Fkansas-city-chiefs-wear-necklace-set-2-gold">a $44 golden necklace</a> from the BaubleBar x Wear by Erin Andrews collaboration.The brand, which sells both luxe pieces and affordable ones at retailers like Target, has long boasted a loyal customer base that includes jewelry fanatics and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.eonline.com/news/1134112/why-so-many-celebrities-love-baublebar-accessories">celebrities</a>.<div type="image" title="Taylor Swift wears a BaubleBar necklace while embracing Travis Kelce." height="1333" width="2000" msid="107558129" hostid="261" sizebytes="220114"></div>But Swift's impact was "enormous," Baublebar cofounder Daniella Fiala told BI. Not only did the brand's Chiefs necklaces sell out that night, but she said the waitlist to purchase one now surpasses five figures."We're no longer a small, 10-person startup — we're bigger than that — but we're not Amazon," she added. "There are tons of people who have no idea who we are, and Taylor Swift is the biggest star in the world. So for her to put a spotlight on the brand has a massive impact from an awareness standpoint across the board."Sheertex, the rip-resistant brand of tights that Swift regularly wears, experienced the same phenomenon.The company's executive vice president, Samantha Colby, told BI that stock of <a target="_blank" href="https://affiliate.insider.com?h=1b46b327916fcc71bd322b0dc4d7ba5e5fb7ba8341027571cd440bc369a62730&amp;postID=65c4dff8ee61557013fcabb3&amp;postSlug=taylor-swift-football-outfits-are-huge-for-fashion-brands-2024-2&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fsheertex.com%2Fproducts%2Fmodern-diamond-tights%3Fpopup%3Dqueue-popup">the $99 pair</a> Swift wore to the AFC Championship game sold out immediately afterward.<h2>Athletic gear is no longer just for dads, Brads, and Chads</h2>Beyond sales, those in charge of fashion and accessory brands say Swift's biggest impact is arguably on the athletic gear industry at large.Whereas team-themed clothing and accessories have traditionally been made for men — or the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/taylor-swift-nfl-games-attendance-reaction-travis-kelce-2023-12">dads, Brads, and Chads</a>, as Swift lovingly referred to them in a Time interview — a major star like Swift advocating for female-focused sports merchandise is huge, with the Taylor Effect bringing interest in themed apparel to another level. BaubleBar, for example, secured a licensing deal with the NFL in 2021 and has seen success since."We've heard a lot of feedback from women who are really avid sports fans and go to games," Fiala said. "And they say, 'I love your pieces because I can wear something that represents my team that I'm passionate about and love, but it doesn't have to be an outfit takeover.'"And now, NFL deals are spreading across the industry. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.sportico.com/business/commerce/2024/nfl-grants-license-swift-jacket-designer-juszczyk-1234764755/">Sportico</a> reported that designer Kristin Juszczyk, who is married to San Francisco 49ers player Kyle Juszczyk, signed a licensing agreement with the organization after stars like Swift, Brittany Mahomes, and Simone Biles wore her creations at football games.<div type="image" title="taylor swift chiefs game" height="1355" width="2033" msid="107558130" hostid="261" sizebytes="124352"></div><h2>No sleep 'til the Super Bowl</h2>While Swift might inspire thousands to shop the same brands she does, her fans are actually the ones who have really made a difference to businesses.Bordner said she's working nonstop ahead of the big game so Swifties and other shoppers can get their merchandise in time."It's just been so crazy," she said. "I have been so in the trenches with fulfilling orders and trying to get them out the door as soon as we can. I haven't had a chance to look at what the numbers are. We just want to make sure we get stuff to people as quickly as we can."On the other hand, businesses like Westside Storey are just taking things one day at a time after its brush with the superstar.But purchases, Harrington said, have stayed strong and continue to grow as the Chiefs head into the Super Bowl."It's taken on a second wind again," he added. "Our online drops, our in-store stuff, our new shirts, everything's going really well, and it keeps going for us. I don't know when it's going to end."And the businesses who've been impacted by Swift hope it never does.

Taylor Swift's gameday outfits are a touchdown for fashion brands 

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Spending on bargain Chinese shopping app Temu surpassed Shein in May, according to Bloomberg data.</li><li>Temu has been the most downloaded iOS app on most days of 2023, Bloomberg reported.</li></ul>Chinese e-commerce giants Shein and Temu are going head-to-head in a race to become America's most-beloved online shopping destination. If you haven't heard of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-temu-chinese-app-amazon-safe-legit-pinduoduo-2023-3">Temu</a> yet, it's an ultra cheap marketplace where you can buy a pair of glasses for less than $2. When <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-temu-chinese-app-amazon-safe-legit-pinduoduo-2023-3">Temu</a> launched in the US last September, it set what seemed like an ambitious sales goal: surpass fast-fashion giant Shein in total merchandise value within a year, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-05/shein-s-throne-challenged-by-rival-with-one-of-hottest-us-apps" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bloomberg previously reported.</a>But it looks like the Chinese-owned marketplace is already on track to hit that goal ahead of schedule. Just in May, US spending on Temu was 20% higher than on Shein, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-06-14/china-fast-fashion-star-shein-gets-overtaken-by-temu-in-us-sales?srnd=premium#xj4y7vzkg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bloomberg reported</a> on Wednesday. Temu has also become the most downloaded app on Apple's iOS app store in 2023 (on most days), Bloomberg <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-06-14/china-fast-fashion-star-shein-gets-overtaken-by-temu-in-us-sales?srnd=premium#xj4y7vzkg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> based on data from Apptopia, an app-intelligence firm.The "most downloaded" title once belonged to Shein, which has evolved into a fast-fashion behemoth since it launched in 2008. The brand's success is due in part to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/shein-china-billion-dollar-company-fast-fashion-brand-2021-8">aggressive social-media marketing tactics,</a> like the hashtag #Sheinhauls on TikTok, which have helped it capture scores of Gen Z shoppers. It's worth noting, though, that since Temu is a marketplace, only a portion of consumer spending on the app materializes into real revenue for the company. Shein, meanwhile, produces all its own products, which means it earns more revenue per dollar spent by customers. And while Temu's recent jockeying to overtake Shein is notable, consumer spending on the platforms and other Chinese apps still pales in comparison to spending on Amazon. According to data from Bloomberg Second Measure, which analyzes credit and debit transactions data, spending on Shein and Temu is still just a fraction of Amazon. Both companies, which have been <a href="https://www.semafor.com/article/04/14/2023/following-tiktok-play-chinas-shein-enters-dcs-crosshairs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">compared to TikTok</a>, are also facing increased scrutiny from US legislators and activist groups. An <a href="https://www.uscc.gov/sites/default/files/2023-04/Issue_Brief-Shein_Temu_and_Chinese_E-Commerce.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">April report by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission</a> raised concerns about Chinese e-commerce companies, citing reports that Shein has produced clothing with <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/international/press-release/56979/taking-the-shine-off-shein-hazardous-chemicals-in-shein-products-break-eu-regulations-new-report-finds/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">high levels of lead</a> and used <a href="https://www.channel4.com/programmes/inside-the-shein-machine-untold" target="_blank" rel="noopener">manufacturers that violated labor laws</a>. US lawmakers proposed that Shein <a href="https://www.supplychaindive.com/news/lawmakers-request-halt-shein-ipo/649212/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">delay its plans to go public</a> until it could confirm that it does not use forced labor. In an email to <a href="https://www.supplychaindive.com/news/lawmakers-request-halt-shein-ipo/649212/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Supply Chain Dive</a>, a Shein spokesperson said the company has "zero tolerance for forced labor" and its suppliers adhere to a strict code of conduct. The USCC also cited reports that Temu's parent company Pinduoduo <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/aug/25/pinduoduo-us-labor-practices-worker-conditions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">required its workers to clock "extreme overtime" hours</a> and that cybersecurity teams found <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/02/tech/china-pinduoduo-malware-cybersecurity-analysis-intl-hnk/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">malware on Pinduoduo's Android app</a>. Temu and Shein did not immediately respond to Insider's request for a comment.

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