Chinese shopping apps going viral among teenagers in Ireland

Chinese marketplaces such as Taobao and Tmall are gaining a foothold in Ireland through a range of cut-price online shopping apps and ‘agent’ services that have become a viral hit among teenagers and Gen Z shoppers in Ireland.

Hundreds of videos and posts about clothing hauls from shipping-agent services such as CNFans and ACbuy have been posted on platforms such as TikTok and Reddit in recent months by predominantly young Irish users.

The agent services, which cover delivery, logistics and customs-related issues, typically feature premium-branded items, sometimes at a fraction of the price of western retailers.

Popular purchases for Irish users of the services posting on TikTok include GAA jerseys and fashion runners, including ‘Yeezy’ shoes designed by the rapper Kanye West.

The agent shopping services, which can be downloaded as apps, use intermediaries to place orders from the Chinese marketplaces, which otherwise would be difficult to access for European users.

Chinese marketplaces frequently draw criticism from established European fashion brands, with copyright infringement and counterfeit goods a recurring problem.

One prominent agent service, Pandabuy, was recently investigated by Chinese authorities after complaints from Western fashion brands over counterfeit goods being offered for sale. As a result, the service has been unavailable for weeks.

CNFans and ACbuy both warn shoppers that some goods featured may not be genuine.

The popularity of the new Chinese-based services has spread in Ireland through social media platforms such as TikTok and Reddit, where shoppers share information and spreadsheets of shopping codes for popular items.

Shoppers typically bulk-buy multiple items in multi-kilogram boxes, with shipping costs usually being the single most costly element.

"The shipping took a little while but it arrived in perfect condition,” said Rory, a Dublin-based 16-year-old shopper, in answer to a query from the Irish Independent about using the CNfans service.

“The quality of the goods was good although I think the sizes were a bit off. Overall, I was happy.”

Another student, Ross (15), who bought a bag and a jacket through CNFans, told the Irish Independent that while “the sizes were off a little bit” and that delivery took three weeks, he was “happy” with what he bought.

The popularity of the agent shopping apps comes amid warnings from the EU and US that the free flow of low-cost online buys from China to the West would soon be curbed.

Last year, almost five billion items valued at under €150 – and therefore exempt from customs duty – were delivered to European citizens, more than 90pc of which were from China.

Earlier this month, the EU said it would begin beefing up customs checks and impose more costs on packages costing less than €150 that come in from China to Ireland and the rest of the EU.

Meanwhile, the new Trump administration has announced a new tariff program on e-commerce purchases from China, prompting the US postal service to warn that it may soon no longer accept some parcels from mainland China or Hong Kong.

Reporting on:independent.ie