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34 000 Local Jobs Could Be Lost If Offshore E-commerce Platform Likes Temu & Shein Continue To Grow

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Guest – Irshaad Kathrada, CEO of the Localisation Support Fund (LSF)

Offshore e-commerce retailers, such as Shein and Temu, are rapidly gaining ground in South Africa’s retail clothing, textile, footwear and leather sector, displacing thousands of local jobs, including in e-commerce.

This is creating an urgent need for digital transformation, including the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI).

The Localisation Support Fund (LSF), in a recently released report, found that Shein and Temu’s presence in the local market has already resulted in millions of rands lost in local manufacturing sales, and more than 8 000 direct and indirect jobs lost between 2020 and 2024.

In a worst-case scenario of Shein and Temu growing their sales locally by 20.8% annually through to 2030, their combined sales could reach R22.6 billion and their e-commerce share of the retail market could climb to 63%. Combined with their impact on the physical market, this would put more than 34 000 South African retail and manufacturing jobs at risk, says the report.
7 Aug 2025 12PM English South Africa Business News · Investing

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