The Trump Trade War Has Gone Viral on Tiktok, Pushing a Chinese e-Commerce App, Dhgate, to the Top of the Apple App Store in the US
After Trump Increased Us Tariffs on Chinese Imports By 145%Numerous Chinese Suppliers and Manufacturers Began Making Tiktok Videos Explaining to Consures How the Global Luxury Goods Market Actually Works. The clothing, handbags, and other accessories that many people assumed was made in europe original from from factories in China, these videos explained.
As a result of the trend, the chinese wholesale marketplace app Dhgate Surged to become the no. 3 Top Free iPhone App in the US Apple App Store as of Monday Morning.
For comparison, the app was ranked no. 352 in the top non-game free iPhone apps category in the us as of Friday, April 11, Before Jumping to No. 6 on Sunday and no. 3 on Monday, according to data from app intelligence provider AppfiguresOn Monday, Dhgate also Climbed to No. 3 on the top overall chart for free iPhone apps, including games.
The firm tells techcrunch that on Saturday, April 12, The Dhgate App was Downloaded 35,400 Times Across the app store and google play, a 56% increase from its average. The US Accounted for 17,300 of that thats installs, a jump of 98% over the 30-day average.
On Sunday, April 13, Theose Installs Increased to 117,500 on iOS, up 732% from the 30-day average. The US Accounted for 65,100 of Theose Downloads, up 940%. (Android Download Data for Sunday isn’t available yet.)
Dhgate is a cross-border e-commerce company, connecting both businesses and consumers to suppliers and manufacturers in China and other markets. Today, it offers an inventory of over 30 million products Across Categories like Electronics, Home and Toys and Apparel, Jewelry, Health and Beauty, And More, States ITS Website.
The demand for the app grew out of the Above-Mentioned Online Viral Trend where Chinese manufacturers began revealing their secrets to the American public. Following this trend, creators began telling their viewers that the dhgate app is a source for buying luxury Goods before a brand have added itsed its to the product.
In one popular tiktok video, a chinese manufacturer claims that the majority of the world’s luxury bags are made in china, but the bags are then synt to the brands in Europe, where the lobbel is the label Repackaged. That way, the bags appear as thought they “made in italy” or “made in france,” The video’s creator claims.
In another videoThat Same Creator, @Senbags2, Says that a $ 38,000 birkin bag is made for just Around $ 1,400, and that consumers are just paying for the logo and fancy packaging. 6
Videos from other chinese creators focused on luxury categories like clothing and jewelry. Brands Like Hermes, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, and others were mentioned in the videos, as were mid-run brands like lullulemon, Tommy Hilfiger, Lacoste, and Hugo Boss.
The point of the videos is to stress that us more dependent on china than it may realize, as even brands us consumors thoughts were very high-ended products are being manufacture in the counte It’s not all fast fashion and cheap electronics like that found on shein or tiktok shop.
This is Not news To anyone who undersrstands the global supply chain, but the videos have prompted tiktok users to seek out a way to buy directly from Goods Manufacturers in China, Leading them to DHGATES Connect to the chinese market. A Simlar App, Taobao, Became the No. 10 Overall free iPhone app on Monday.
In reality, it can be different for consucers to tell which factors are the originals contracted by the luxury brands and which are just making copies, also KNOWN AS DUPES. However, online communities like R/Dhgate on Reddit can sometimes offer help on that front.

Using dhgate is not really a solution for avoiding trump’s tarifs, as any chinese imports to the US would still be impacted by tariffs outside of Some exceptions in electronics – for nowBut as one tiktok commenter pointed outThese trends are the result of the us claiming to hold all the cards in the trade war, leading china to respond, “We make all the cards.”