Reason behind rise in fashion company
Chinese fashion phenomenon Shein continues to rise in popularity across Australian online marketplaces and Gen Z shoppers are fuelling the boom.
Some 26 per cent of online shoppers bought products from the brand in the past 12 months, a new report from ecommerce service provider Pattern shows, and the figure is expected to lift to 28 per cent in 2025.
'The platform attracts two million Australian shoppers aged 14 and over, with 76 per cent being repeat customers and 42 per cent making purchases four or more times a year,' the report, which drills into consumer behaviour across major online marketplaces, states.
'The majority of Shein's customers are female (78 per cent) and under 35, aligning with its core focus on women's clothing.'
The report suggests the fast-fashion company's aggressive pricing strategy to attract cost-conscious shoppers was paying off.
'Despite concerns over trust, Shein continues to attract shoppers seeking low prices and a wide assortment with 70 per cent of Australians regularly using Chinese marketplaces due to value,' the report notes. Chinese company Shein continues to rise in popularity, Pattern's 2025 Marketplace Consumer Report suggests. NewsWire / Nadir Kinani Credit: NewsWire But Temu could be slipping, the report suggests. NewsWire / Nadir Kinani Credit: NewsWire
'With plans to file for a London initial public offering at a $$100bn valuation, Shein's aggressive growth and diversification strategies position it as a significant player in the Australian retail landscape for the future.'
Roy Morgan estimates Shein attracted $1.1bn in annual sales for the year ending June 2024.
The company is also moving to lift its 'brand engagement' by increasing physical activations such as showroom experiences.
But while Shein is flying, Chinese online retail platform Temu could be slipping, the report said.
Some 46 per cent of online shoppers bought products from Temu in the past 12 months, but the figure is expect to fall to 43 per cent in 2025.
'Shopper intentions for 2025 indicate that the rapid growth of Chinese marketplaces in Australia may be on the decline,' the report states.
'Temu is expected to see a reduction in shoppers, with 43 per cent of people planning to shop on the platform compared to 46 per cent in 2024. An Amazon fulfilment centre at Kemps Creek on Tuesday. The US retail giant continues to be the most popular online platform for Aussie shoppers. NewsWire / Nikki Short Credit: News Corp Australia
'This trend could be attributed to a wave of shoppers who trialled the Chinese marketplaces in 2024 but experienced unsatisfactory shopping experiences.'
US giant Amazon continues to dominate online marketplaces in Australia, though it is moving to fend off its Chinese challengers.
Some 58 per cent of shoppers purchased products from the platform in the past 12 months and that number is expected to hit 63 per cent in 2025.
'To counter emerging competitors like Temu and Shein, Amazon has launched 'Haul', a low-cost storefront with price caps, aiming to match the appeal of discount platforms,' the report states.
'Despite perceptions of higher prices compared to Chinese marketplaces, Amazon maintains a strong reputation for fast delivery and quality, with 63 per cent of shoppers trusting the platform.'
The value of Australia's ecommerce market is expected to reach $59bn in 2025 and then grow to $93bn by 2029.
The data for the report comes from a poll of 1000 Australians, aged 14 and above.
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Perth Now
2 hours ago
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2025 Omoda C9 review: Quick drive
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7NEWS
2 hours ago
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Chery, the massive Chinese automotive manufacturing conglomerate, has already made inroads into our market by launching a variety of vehicles under its own banner. Now, it's rolling out its Omoda Jaecoo brand, which it's calling a step above its namesake brand. And while Omoda Jaecoo showrooms only have Jaecoo-badged SUVs for now, they'll be joined in August by the Omoda C9. This plug-in hybrid (PHEV) large SUV aims to offer Volvo XC60 – or BMW X3 -like levels of luxury, interior space, equipment and performance, but at the sort of prices you might expect to pay for a mid-spec Volkswagen Tiguan. We got our first taste of the car on the south coast of the UK (badged as simply the 'Omoda 9 SHS' for that market), to see how impressive – or otherwise – this incoming Omoda truly is. How much does the Omoda C9 cost? We don't know yet, but there's every likelihood the Omoda C9 could start somewhere close to the ballpark of the top-spec Jaecoo J7 SHS, which is priced at $47,990 drive-away. However, there are a few things to temper the hope that the C9 will land around $50,000: one, the C9 is a physically bigger and longer car than the J7; and two, the PHEV powertrain in the C9 is considerably more powerful and long-legged than the one in the J7. So the C9 PHEV will cost more but, nevertheless, we'd be mighty surprised if the Omoda C9 SHS wasn't considerably cheaper than the $102,500 (plus on-road costs) you need to park your backside in a BMW X3 30e xDrive PHEV, for instance. Therefore we'll reserve final judgement on the new Chinese SUV's value equation until we know for sure how much it's going to cost, and precisely what kit we'll get for our money. What is the Omoda C9 like on the inside? There are two types of Chinese car interiors these days, starting with the ones built down to a cheaper price, which normally rely on some kind of gimmick – like a rotating centre screen, for example – to make them interesting. The second type is a well-appointed, luxurious cabin that clearly takes inspiration from established and premium European marques. Happily, the C9's passenger compartment falls into this category. You climb aboard to be greeted by a swish-looking, solidly put-together main fascia, complemented by some large, deep-bolstered chairs finished in what looks like leather (it's synthetic, rather than real hide, but it's convincing enough as these things go) and then topped off with fancy stitching patterns – echoed in the door cards – that are designed to bring an element of grandiosity to proceedings. In the main, this works, especially when you finally sit behind the (properly) leather-trimmed steering wheel and start experiencing all of the main touchpoints and all of the surface finishes, none of which seem obviously subpar. Technology is handled by a whopping great 24.6-inch curved display which features both the main touchscreen infotainment and the TFT driver's cluster, but Omoda Jaecoo is also proud to say there are no fewer than 53 physical buttons and controls in the C9's cabin – great news for anyone experiencing digital fatigue in modern-era car interiors. There's also a potent 50-Watt, cooled wireless smartphone charging pad, which you're going to want to employ because you'll inevitably be using the wireless Android Auto or Apple CarPlay connectivity as the proprietary infotainment system is not great. It's one of those typically confusing systems with too many menus, not enough logical order to where various settings and controls ought to be, and a fiddly, somewhat laggy response rate to prods of the screen. Furthermore, there's a weird trip computer in the C9 which will only ever show you your last 50km of fuel and electricity consumption, and you can't reset it no matter what you do. Bizarre. Generally, though, the cabin and the main displays are largely very good, even if the high central construct ramping down from beneath the central screen and running towards the back of the car feels somewhat constrictive to front-passenger space. Practicality isn't an issue, though, as there is plenty of legroom and a completely flat floor in the rear of the passenger compartment, which means three adults might just be able to travel side-by-side in the second row if needs be. However, headroom in the outer two seats can be limited if the occupants sit slightly outboard, because the roof curves in quite noticeably above the doors towards the panoramic roof up top. At the back is a sizeable 660-litre boot, rising to 1783L with the 60:40 split-folding rear seats dropped down. The Chinese firm also offers three full ISOFIX child seat anchors on the back bench, recognising thatfamilies will be the end users of this vehicle. But despite its sheer physical size – it's nearly 4.8 metres long – there isn't a seven-seat option for the C9. What's under the bonnet? Depending on the market, the Omoda C9 – also sold as the RX or Yaoguang by Chery's premium Exeed brand – is offered with turbocharged petrol power or a choice of two plug-in hybrid powertrains with two or three electric motors respectively. Our UK-spec tester uses the familiar Chery-sourced turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, alongside its unusual '3DHT' (dedicated hybrid transmission) three-speed automatic gearbox and dual electric motors. The difference here is that this system is much more powerful than it is in the related Jaecoo J7, summoning up peak outputs of 300kW and 700Nm. That's enough for a claimed 0-100km/h time of 4.9 seconds, despite the bulky kerb weight of 2195kg. There's also a bigger battery pack here, rated at 34.46kWh. This allows the Omoda to travel up to 150km on electric power alone, which is claimed to be among the longest EV ranges for any PHEV available globally right now, and when combined with the big 70L fuel tank the C9 should be capable of more than 1200km of total range with careful driving. Due to the big battery pack and the oddities of WLTP testing, the official fuel consumption figure is somewhere south of a deeply impressive 2.0L/100km, but bear in mind Omoda Jaecoo would like you to work on the premise of 7.0L/100km, which is what the car will do when its battery is depleted as far as it will go. On that basis, our recorded figure of 5.9L/100km across 80km of mixed-roads driving doesn't look too bad, although we obviously had lots of battery charge to play with from the off, while the traffic conditions on the test route were conducive to better fuel economy (ie: we weren't often going that quickly). Recently sighted government approval documents in Australia show this market is set to get the even gruntier tri-motor PHEV powertrain, which offers total system outputs of 440kW and 915Nm. How does the Omoda C9 drive? Rather well, all told, and it's certainly one of the more assured, likeable efforts from China that we've tried so far. Of course, it's not perfect either, but it's a mainly positive dynamic report card. First of all, there's no doubting those 300kW and 700Nm output claims, because the Omoda C9 SHS does feel suitably rapid. The three-speed transmission deserves particular praise, as the company claims it is seamless in operation and, from our brief experience of this UK-spec dual-motor car, it certainly feels it. Thus, driving the Omoda is merely a case of clicking the column-mounted shifter into D and then deciding just how much forward momentum you want with presses of the accelerator pedal. 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Certainly, the secondary ride and the impressive level of rolling refinement both serve to make this a comfortable car to travel long distances in. It's supple and it's quiet, and there's not a great deal of movement in the shell of the SUV either, so you never feel like you're rolling around in an automotive waterbed. Granted, there are times the 20-inch wheels do thud through larger imperfections in the road, so the primary ride isn't quite as polished, yet the Omoda is perfectly fine for just ambling about the place at a leisurely speed. The handling isn't quite so memorable, but it's not bad at all. The decent body control couples to lots of grip, ample traction and nicely weighted, reasonably accurate steering, so while you might not exactly enjoyhustling the C9 through the corners, it's more than capable of putting on a respectable show if you decide to get a move on. Our complaints, then, basically amount to some idiosyncrasies of the Omoda, such as hesitance when you're moving off from a standstill. Or brakes which felt wooden underfoot and too aggressive in their initial bite at lower speeds. Or a driver's seat which is too high-mounted and not quite comfortable enough in the coccyx region to worry Volvo's engineers any time soon. All things considered, the Omoda felt nicely composed for most of the time we were behind its wheel, and it's definitely in the same sort of dynamic range as something like a Volkswagen Tiguan – itself a fairly safe and uninspiring thing to drive most of the time, but perfectly comfortable and amenable. What do you get? We'd expect a lengthy standard kit list for the Omoda C9 when it lands here, as that's a typical trait of 'new' Chinese manufacturers trying to break into fresh markets. Going on the car we tested overseas, we'd be hoping for some of the highlights below to make it into the Australian cars as standard. 2025 Omoda C9 SHS equipment highlights: 24.6-inch curved display 50W wireless smartphone charging pad 20-inch alloy wheels Adaptive electromagnetic suspension LED exterior lighting Leather-effect upholstery Heated and ventilated seats, front and rear Adaptive cruise control Dual-zone climate control 14-speaker Sony surround sound system Panoramic sunroof Panoramic camera system Keyless Go Cruise control Is the Omoda C9 safe? With the car not tested by Euro NCAP or ANCAP and considering Omoda Jaecoo is not yet established as a manufacturer in its own right, we can't say exactly what safety spec the C9 will offer when it lands in this market. That said, the company confidently cites the fact that 20 advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) are fitted as standard to the SUV, and that products under the Chery and Jaecoo banners have picked up good safety ratings – most pertinently the related J7 SHS, which has a five-star Euro NCAP rating. How much does the Omoda C9 cost to run? Again, we don't have exact details on aftersales provisions as Omoda does not exist here yet, but going on what Jaecoo offers we'd be disappointed if the C9 didn't come with the eight-year, unlimited-distance warranty that covers the J7 SHS, along with other impressive levels of customer back-up. It should obviously prove cheap to run compared to a straightforward petrol SUV, thanks to its PHEV drivetrain and big battery pack. Speaking of which, Omoda offers DC fast-charging for its power packs at up to 70kW. This should see the battery go from 30-80 per cent of charge in as little as 25 minutes on the right connection. And furthermore the clever hybrid system in the C9 ensures that the battery is never fully depleted – it always reserves some charge in the unit, and manages its self-charging functions carefully, so that the SUV can operate like a regular hybrid when the battery is low, rather than exhausting all of its useable capacity and then making its driver rely solely on the combustion engine for forward progress. CarExpert's Take on the Omoda C9 Despite being an unknown quantity – of sorts – here in Australia as a standalone auto brand, our first sample of the Omoda C9 SHS uses technology we're already familiar with from cars in the Chery and Jaecoo stables – even if we're likely to get an even more powerful tri-motor version. As tested, the Omoda C9 SHS is a convincing luxury SUV that, if the pricing and specifications are right once they're confirmed for our market, ought to be worth serious consideration. Sure, it could do with some added engineering polish in certain areas, most specifically the brakes, and the driving experience is okay without being exceptional. But there's plenty to recommend and much to like here – so much so that we're eager to try the Omoda C9 on home roads to really get the lay of the land. Pros Powerful drivetrain Spacious and well-equipped interior Over 1200km of combined range Cons
West Australian
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Wall St rises on jobs data optimism, Tesla rebounds
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