Temu was the most downloaded retail app for both the UK and the world in 2024, with Shein in second position
Shopping from mobile devices has become increasingly popular as more consumers opt for convenience and the ability to buy from anywhere at any time. Retail Week takes a look at Sensor Tower’s State of Mobile 2025 report, which reveals the retail apps that garnered the most downloads in 2024.
In the UK and worldwide ranking of downloads, Temu and Shein took the top two spots respectively, demonstrating the consumer demand to shop global marketplaces offering a range of items at a low cost.
Temu owner PDD Holdings posted record revenues of ¥247bn (£27bn) in 2023. Shein, meanwhile, surpassed rival Boohoo with UK sales of £1.55bn during the same year.
Amazon Shopping and AliExpress were the only other retailers to make the top 10 for both the UK and worldwide, with Amazon finishing in eighth place in the UK and fourth in the worldwide ranking. AliExpress peaked at number five in the UK and number eight worldwide.
Despite Temu downloads decreasing by over a fifth in 2024, time spent on the app increased by 139%. Temu and Shein again ranked first and second for monthly active users in the UK in 2024 with Amazon taking third place.
”The success of these Chinese ecommerce giants, driven by their innovative approaches to consumer engagement, is significantly contributing to the overall increase in time spent on retail apps in the UK,” said Jonathan Briskman, principal market insights manager at Sensor Tower.
Taking the bronze spot for UK downloads was Vinted. The second-hand fashion platform has recently widened its offering by introducing electronics to the mix and reached profitability for the first time in 2023 as demand for secondhand grows amongst shoppers. Research by the company in partnership with Retail Economics predicted that over £2bn would be spent on secondhand gifts over Christmas 2024.
The grocers dominated the UK top 10, as Tesco Grocery and Clubcard, Lidl Plus, Nectar, and Morrisons More made appearances.
The loyalty supermarket apps are proving popular with UK shoppers as it battles a backdrop of rising inflation and a bleak economic outlook. There were 11.3 million downloads of coupon and rebate apps in golden quarter 2024, up 21.8% from the previous year.
Rounding up the ranking was “Shop”, an app where users can browse from a number of retailers in one place while also tracking their delivery.
In the worldwide top 10 most downloaded retail apps of 2024, Indian online marketplace Meesho took the number three spot, while Singaporean ecommerce platform Shoppee took fifth.
Indian online marketplaces Flipkart and Shopsy took sixth and ninth place, while Chinese marketplace Alibaba.com and Argentinian marketplace Mercado Libre completed the ranking at number seven and 10 respectively.
In the report, Sensor Tower said: “Consumers increasingly look for platforms they can shop across sectors — from grocery to apparel — and who offer fulfillment services, such as two-day shipping or same-day delivery.
“These apps also benefit as consumers usually have them set up with payment options, making the transition from browsing to buying seamless and lessening cart abandonment.
“Notably, this is a strength of the Chinese e-tailers, whose supply chain advantage allows them to offer free shipping and bargain pricing has resonated globally as consumers grapple with inflation, interest rates, and an uncertain geopolitical environment.”
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