As Christmas approaches, the consumer mood increases more and more since the festive season dictates it. Taking a look around you will find that more and more people in the neighborhood are about to place or have already placed an order with the popular Chinese companies Temu and Shein.

The business models of the two platforms, combined with constant online advertising has caused a “headache” for Western retailers who are trying to increase their sales ahead of the festive season.

Software company Salesforce said it expects approx one in five online purchases to be held in the US, UK, Australia and Canada through the four online marketplaces based or established in Asia: Shein, Temu, TikTok Shop and AliExpress. Of global sales outside of China, approximately $160 billion is expected to be raised most of which are expected to go to Shein and Temu.

Shein, now based in Singapore, uses some of the same techniques as Temu, such as pop-up coupons and ads, to get shoppers to keep visiting their sites and shopping.

However, Shein seems a bit more restrained in her approach as she mainly targets young women unlike Temu which appeals to all age groups and all genders. Temu is the second most visited online shopping site in the world, software company Similarweb said in September. Customers go there looking for practical items like doormats and silly products like a whiskey bottle shaped like a vintage cell phone from the 1990s.

At the same time, both Shein and Temu have set up warehouses in the US to speed up delivery times and help them better compete with the likes of Amazon, while Temu is recruiting Chinese merchants to store its US inventory.

Now both companies are trying to expand beyond bargain-hungry shoppers with Temu now aiming to sell larger items like furniture.