In recent years, several web sites selling extremely inexpensive goods have appeared on the French market. Shein, Temu and AliExpress, to call just a few, are shaking up the web retail landscape. Accordingly a study According to a study conducted by BPCE Digital & Payments, the variety of payment cards that record at the very least one monthly transaction on a reduction site increased by 20% between the primary quarters of 2022 and 2023.
This is hardly surprising considering that Temu's website receives hundreds of thousands of French visitors every month Data from the Association for E-Commerce and Distance Selling (FEVAD). As of mid-July 2025, 22% of parcels processed by the French Post were on low-cost platforms, in comparison with 5% five years ago. This increase is anticipated to proceed, with the sector expected to grow by 20% total 6.5% in 2025.
Of course, rampant inflation in France lately partly explains this trend. However, this just isn’t the one explanation for these developments. The use of artificial intelligence (AI), which forms the core of the business model of those platforms, contributes to customer loyalty.
Behavioral profiling
In our latest articles on the subject Shein And Beforewe analyzed how these platforms work behind the scenes. By analyzing user behavior data, the AI tools The data utilized by the platforms can discover the shoppers almost certainly to make a purchase order and tailor the promoting messages they receive.
Predictive algorithms also analyze user behavior to supply personalized recommendations. This approach goals to create a necessity before it even arises by playing on feelings of scarcity and urgency. This is the famous one Fomoor “fear of missing out.”
These predictive algorithms have been around for a few years, but their recent capabilities, “augmented” by AI tools, usher in a brand new era wherein they adapt much more finely and quickly to every Internet user. At the underside of every page there may be an inventory of “items also viewed by other users” which are much like the product you’re searching for. This classic marketing technique is taken one step further: Algorithms Constantly send recent content to the shopper to explore their response. Every response (e.g. a click so as to add an item to the shopping cart) is analyzed in real time. The AI-powered algorithm then uses this data to encourage the user to buy other products that they weren’t originally searching for.
Sell with games
Gamification is the usage of game mechanics for marketing purposes to draw customers' attention.
Temu app's user interfaces are inspired by gambling known to be particularly addictive: Wheels of Fortune, countdowns highlighting limited-time offers, gifts and promotional codes to unlock, etc. These constant stimuli create a way of urgency within the user while disrupting the biochemical mechanism of the reward round. AI enables greater precision and diversification of the “games” on offer, to the detriment of buyers (and without their full awareness).
On Temu, mini-games integrated into the mobile app (reminiscent of Farmland and Fishland) promise free items and discount vouchers. Points and voucher systems are used to encourage users to return to the web site as often as possible. In addition, personalized notifications are sent at appropriate times based on the information collected in regards to the user.
Additionally, dynamic pricing algorithms (which adjust prices based on fluctuations in demand) offer discounts that may have a robust impact on consumers. Here too, AI is proving to be a tool that multiplies this power.
Personalized online shops
The hyper-personalization of platforms is one other lever. Thanks to AI that collects huge amounts of knowledge on user profiles, every customer has a unique online shop, personalized based on their history, their tastes, their likes and dislikes. This increases the likelihood of a number of impulse purchases.
AI's most important contribution to Shein's success goes much further and precedes the arrival of shoppers on the platform. Shein has evolved own AI tools and algorithms Collect and analyze data. Shein uses these tools to trace customer behavior online (on its website and beyond) and in addition uses them to research online search results, social media posts and competitor web sites.
These tools are central to Shein's success. They allow him to detect trends (colours, prices, designs) in real time or near real time and to adapt the design and production of his products in a short time. That's because all of this data is shared with suppliers who make the items Shein sells. The process is facilitated by a technique that favors low-volume production (100 items or less) for all recent products.
Significant ethical issues
All of those aspects raise ethical questions given the opacity of the algorithms and the shortage of transparency regarding the usage of the information collected.
In 2022, shein what fined by New York State for failing to notify nearly 40 million users of a knowledge breach in 2018. As mentioned above, the corporate can be affected investigated by the European Commissionwhich accuses it of at the very least six fraudulent or abusive practices towards consumers (reminiscent of “false discounts”, “misleading information”, “hidden contact details” and others).
So to what extent should AI be regulated in online sales and marketing? What limits ought to be set? How far should consumer protection go? According to statistics from 2024 reportAI-based advice systems influence almost 35% of online purchases, demonstrating their significant impact.
Those of the EU Digital Services Act (DSA) and his AI law Both strengthen consumer protection by improving transparency, accountability and security within the digital sector. The aim of the DSA is to be certain that users are protected against illegal or harmful online content, manipulative designs and opaque algorithms. The AI Act prevents the usage of dangerous or deceptive AI systems, requires clear disclosure when AI is involved, and enforces protections against bias, discrimination and abuse. However, there are questions on the scope and impact: How do these regulations specifically address the chance of opaque or questionable advice algorithms? What mechanisms will likely be put in place to make sure compliance and enforcement of digital actors? How can the impact of the regulations on consumers and their protection ultimately be measured?
