Dunhuang.com soars to the second place! TikTok exposes the "secrets" of Chinese factories, Americans scramble for it, and it is a dark horse in cross-border e-commerce under the tariff storm!

​After US President Trump imposed new tariffs, a cross-border e-commerce app called DHgate (Dunhuang.com) has quickly become popular in the United States.

As of April 15th, Beijing time, DHgate has risen to the second place in the US App Store free iPhone application rankings, second only to ChatGPT, surpassing well-known applications such as Threads (Meta's social software) and TurboTax (tax filing software).

At a time when trade frictions intensify, this Chinese cross-border e-commerce platform is conquering the hearts of American consumers at an astonishing rate.

From obscurity to overnight fame

Data doesn’t lie:

On April 11, DHgate.com was ranked 352nd in the US App Store; by April 13, it had jumped to 6th place; on April 14, it was 3rd place; and on April 15, it directly locked in 2nd place, second only to ChatGPT.

Just looking at the download volume is even more terrifying:

On April 13, the number of downloads on the DHgate iOS platform reached 117,500, a seven-fold increase over the usual number. American users contributed 65,100 downloads, a nearly ten-fold increase! This growth rate is unheard of in the cross-border e-commerce circle.

US tariff policy unexpectedly became a "booster"

Why did DHgate suddenly become popular in the United States? One important reason is the U.S. government’s own tariff policy.

Earlier this year, the US government cancelled the duty-free policy for imported goods below $800, which was intended to create obstacles for Chinese goods, but ended up creating opportunities for DHgate. The "tariff splitting technology" developed by the platform has become a "money-saving tool" for American consumers - it can intelligently split large orders into several small packages, each of which is below the tariff threshold, thus saving a lot of money.

For example, if you wholesale 300 T-shirts for a total price of $900 (including tariffs), buying them through DHgate is more than half cheaper than buying them locally in the U.S. With prices soaring, who doesn't want to save money?

The "truth" video on TikTok has set the whole network on fire

In addition to the tariff factor, there is another unexpected driving force behind the popularity of Dunhuang.com - the "revealing" video on TikTok.

Recently, many Chinese suppliers have posted videos on TikTok, exposing the "truth" of international brands: those famous brand products that sell for hundreds of dollars are actually made by Chinese factories at a cost of only a few dollars. For example, a video shows that Lululemon yoga pants that sell for more than $100 actually cost only $5 to produce.

These videos made American consumers suddenly realize: Why spend a lot of money on brand names instead of buying the same things directly from the source factory? Dunhuang.com just provides this shortcut, allowing consumers to bypass the layers of price increases and get goods directly from Chinese factories.

The "small single-lens fast-reaction" model has made a great comeback

DHgate.com is different from other cross-border e-commerce companies in that it focuses on the "small order, quick response" B2B model, connecting Chinese small and medium-sized factories with North American small and medium-sized wholesalers. This model is particularly flexible, can quickly respond to market demand, and reduce inventory risks, making it particularly popular in a complex tariff environment.

The platform also provides one-stop services for small businesses, from store operations to logistics and distribution, to payment settlement, all for you. This allows many inexperienced small Chinese factories to easily sell to the United States.

A new way to subvert traditional trade rules

The popularity of Dunhuang.com is quietly changing the global e-commerce landscape. It proves a truth: market demand will always find a way out. In the Internet age, traditional trade barriers cannot stop the wave of digitalization.

This direct connection model has put a lot of pressure on traditional e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and eBay, and has also made local European and American brands uneasy. For example, in the field of smart lighting, Dunhuang Online's product sales have exceeded 30 billion US dollars, and the order growth rate of products such as RGB light strips and smart bulbs has exceeded 40%. Old lighting companies such as Philips and OPPLE have all felt threatened.

Global emerging markets hold unlimited business opportunities

With the success of DHgate.com, the global cross-border e-commerce market is experiencing unprecedented prosperity. It is expected that the global cross-border e-commerce transaction volume will exceed 1 trillion US dollars next year. In addition to the US market, other regions also have great potential.

The mobile phone penetration rate in Indonesia exceeds 80%, and consumers are willing to try new brands; the purchasing power of the middle class in Brazil and Mexico has increased, and mobile payments are becoming more and more popular; although the e-commerce penetration rate in Africa is not high, the government policies are friendly and the market potential is huge.

Scan the QR code to contact us