E-commerce in the US wanted to make it before the May Day holiday. Now online shoppers will get a kick in the pocket

On May 1, the de minimis exemption for small shipments worth less than $800 ending up in the US ended. This means that products from China and Hong Kong that have so far used this loophole are now exposed to tariffs of 145% , as these are imposed on most Chinese goods due to a decision by US President Donald Trump.

The effects on consumer wallets could be severe, as well as on the entire e-commerce market, because – as CNN Business notes – over 80% of all shipments in the US (data for 2022) were de minimis imports , mostly from China.

Reuters, analyzing the reactions of retailers to the situation, points out that Temu, an online store owned by China's PDD Holdings, has highlighted as "local" on its website products that are already in warehouses in the US, emphasizing that they are not subject to import fees, while Singaporean fast-fashion Shein assures customers that most of its collections "remain as affordable as ever." However, Reuters notes that both Temu and Shein have reduced their digital advertising spending in the US in recent weeks.

Some small and medium-sized e-commerce businesses have decided to withdraw from the US market altogether.

- If your inventory is no longer in the US, selling to the US will be painful, says Hugo Pakula, a customs expert and CEO of trade automation platform Tru Identity, as quoted by the agency.

Amazon has also called for stockpiling in the U.S. The company said it has yet to see a weakening in demand or a large increase in average retail prices , and some categories have even seen increased purchases.

Everyone is playing the short-term game because they don't really know what else to do

"I don't think they're going to stockpile more than six months. If we get through the next six months and we're still as uncertain as we are today... Amazon is going to have to take actions that are less acceptable. They're going to have to allow higher prices, structurally accept lower margins, force their sellers to accept lower margins ," said Gil Luria, an analyst at DA Davidson.

Reuters notes that some third-party sellers are planning to skip major sales events like Amazon Prime Day, and that Amazon's third-party seller revenue growth fell by more than half to 7% in the first quarter. The worst will come in the third and fourth quarters, according to Bob O'Donnell, president and principal analyst at TECHnalysis Research.

"Everyone is playing the short-term game right now because they don't really know what else to do," O'Donnell said.