Temu and Shein Top the Global Shopping App Download Charts in 2025
Temu and Shein ranked first and second globally for retail app downloads in 2025, with Amazon Shopping following in third place. According to Sensor Tower's State of Mobile 2026 report, seven of the ten most downloaded shopping apps worldwide originated in Asia, and Chinese platforms led by download volume for the second consecutive year.
The Full Global Ranking
The top 10 most downloaded shopping apps worldwide in 2025, per Sensor Tower, are:
- Temu (General Shopping)
- Shein (Apparel)
- Amazon Shopping (General Shopping)
- Meesho (General Shopping)
- Shopee (General Shopping)
- Alibaba.com (General Shopping)
- Flipkart (General Shopping)
- AliExpress (General Shopping)
- Mercado Libre (General Shopping)
- Myntra (Apparel)
Seven of the ten apps originate from Asia, and most serve markets where mobile commerce is deeply embedded in everyday consumer behavior.
Downloads Are Falling, but Usage Is Growing
Global downloads for retail apps declined in 2025, driven partly by slowing expansion from Temu and Shein as both platforms reached saturation in top markets. U.S. tariffs eliminating the de minimis exemption for Chinese-based retailers also pushed these apps to redirect growth toward smaller markets such as Argentina, Thailand, and Saudi Arabia.
Time spent in retail apps grew only 1% year-over-year in 2025, down sharply from the consecutive 10% growth rates of the two previous years. Temu dominated downloads but trailed Amazon in active users, though the gap is narrowing. Amazon averaged 685 million monthly active users in Q4 2025, while Temu surpassed 530 million following a 48% year-over-year surge.
How Tariffs Hit Temu and Shein Differently
The elimination of the de minimis exemption in Q2 2025 produced measurably different outcomes for each platform. Temu cut its U.S. ad impressions by 97%, and its app open rate fell from 82% to 64%, reflecting a user base heavily dependent on paid acquisition. Its U.S. install base dropped to 68 million users in June 2025.
Shein reduced ad impressions by 30% over the same period, but its open rate stayed above 80%. Users continued engaging without heavy advertising support, pointing to stronger organic retention.
Temu recovered by year-end. Its direct-from-factory pricing kept it in the low-cost position, and its U.S. install base climbed back to 91 million by October 2025.
The Fastest-Growing App in the U.S.
Whatnot was the fastest-growing shopping app in the U.S. by year-over-year downloads in 2025, breaking into the top five and trailing only Temu, Shein, and Walmart. Users spend an average of four hours per month on the app, 2.6 times the 93 minutes users spend on Amazon, and open it an average of 47 times per month. The interactive live shopping format drives session frequency that standard browse-and-buy apps do not match.
AI Is Becoming a Shopping Entry Point
Generative AI referral traffic to major shopping sites grew sevenfold in a single year, rising from nearly 6 million monthly visits in October 2024 to 41 million by December 2025. Walmart, Home Depot, Etsy, and Target saw AI-driven referrals increase by over 1,600%.
This traffic still represents less than 1% of total retail traffic, but the growth rate reflects a shift in how shoppers find products. Consumers are using AI assistants to research and compare products before visiting a retailer's site or app, particularly for higher-consideration purchases like home improvement and household essentials.
What This Means for Sellers
If your customers are starting their product research in an AI assistant rather than a search bar, your listings, reviews, and content need to be optimized for how AI tools surface and describe products. That is a different challenge from search engine optimization, and most sellers have not addressed it yet. Amazon, Walmart, and Target led the U.S. in combined web and mobile usage and retail media impressions in Q3 2025, and the platforms at the top of these rankings are where consumer attention is concentrated. Building your presence there is more efficient than competing for downloads on your own.
