Shopping in China

A Haitao App Can Be Handy — Until the Small Print Bites Picture the scene: it is Sunday evening in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hangzhou or a university flat somewhere far from home. You have spotted a familiar British skincare brand, a pair of trainers, maybe baby formula or an adapter that looks much less dodgy than the one in the local shop. A haitao app — an app for buying imported goods through cross-border retail channels — makes it look simple. Tap, pay, wait. Job done. ...

Why the Tmall App Matters When You’ve Just Landed in China If you’re from the United Kingdom and you’ve just arrived in China — or you’re still in the “packing boxes, Googling visas, and trying not to panic” stage — the Tmall app can become one of those quietly useful things that saves you time, money, and a fair bit of faff. On paper, it’s just a shopping app. In real life, it’s more like a shortcut into everyday life: groceries, toiletries, electronics, seasonal clothes, small home bits, and the kind of “I need this by tomorrow, preferably yesterday” purchases that happen when you move country. For international students, it can be the difference between sorting your dorm room in one evening and spending three days trekking around shops in unfamiliar neighbourhoods. For professionals, it is often the easiest way to get decent-quality items delivered without wandering from one mall to another like a lost tourist. ...

Temu China app: what UK users in China need to know If you’re a UK person living in China, or you’re just about to land with a suitcase, a SIM card and a head full of “how does anything work here?”, the Temu China app is one of those tools that can look dead simple on the surface and still trip people up in practice. On paper, it’s just another shopping app. In real life, it sits in the same messy corner as delivery apps, payment methods, phone verification, address formatting and the classic “why won’t this thing accept my number?” moment. That’s the bit people usually miss. The app itself isn’t the hard part — it’s the ecosystem around it. ...