On July 1st, the exemption from customs duties for low-value shipments from countries outside the EU will be abolished, meaning a customs fee of up to 3 euros per merchandise post will be added. As Ehandel.se previously reported, this is expected to lead to a measurable customer exodus. According to a survey from the Swedish Customs Agency, over half of Swedish consumers plan to reduce or completely refrain from their purchases from non-European actors as a result of the fee.
Reduced Presence On Google Ads
The effects of the upcoming regulations now seem to be visible in the marketing strategies of the affected non-European companies. According to new data from Adrelevance, Temu lowered its activity on Google Ads within the EU around April 22nd and has remained at a lower level since then. Shein acted similarly on June 2nd and has since often been absent from Google Shopping.
The fact that the change is directly linked to the EU's new rules is strengthened by the fact that the companies have not reduced their advertising intensity in Norway, which is outside the EU.
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Karl Lindberg, founder and CEO of Adrelevance, comments on the development:
Temu and Shein have had a very aggressive Google Shopping strategy in recent years, which has caused great concern for Swedish e-retailers. We have carefully followed the data to see how the EU's new customs rules will affect Temu and Shein's strategies. It is positive for Swedish e-retailers that the competition in Google Shopping is at least temporarily lower from Temu and Shein. It remains to be seen if it is only temporary.
Amazon Gains Market Share
While Shein and Temu are reducing their visibility, the data indicates that another global player is taking advantage of the space. Amazon has gradually increased its impression share on Google during the same period.
It is not surprising that Amazon has increased its impression share. They may have acted directly and increased when they saw the development. As always, it is important to be quick on the ball, analyze the data and act on it, says Karl Lindberg.