In a surprising twist, the "tariff stick" wielded by the United States appears to have landed squarely on its own foot.

According to app analytics firm Appfigures, DHgate ranked only 352nd among non-gaming free iPhone apps in the US App Store as of Friday, April 11th. But by April 13th, its daily installations in the US had surged to 117,500, an astonishing 732% increase over its average daily downloads in the previous 30 days. Following this surge, DHgate climbed rapidly up the US App Store charts, at one point claiming the top spot.

Meanwhile, Taobao is also experiencing a meteoric rise across multiple overseas markets. As of April 16th, Taobao had jumped to second place on the US App Store download chart. It also reached second place in Canada and the UK, and even clinched the top spot in France. The surge in downloads marks a significant spike compared to the period before the tariff controversy erupted.

At one point, Chinese cross-border e-commerce apps held the top three positions on the US App Store's free apps chart: DHgate ranked first, followed by Taobao and SHEIN.

Why the sudden boom in popularity for platforms like Taobao and DHgate overseas? Analysts suggest a few reasons. First, Donald Trump's tariff policies have triggered growing price concerns among American consumers, many of whom have begun stockpiling Chinese goods. Second, the topic "How we bypass tariffs" has gone viral on social media platforms like TikTok. One widely circulated video features a garment factory in Guangzhou, China, said to supply brands like Brooks Brothers, tommy Hilfiger, and Hugo Boss. The video racked up more than 3.5 million views in just three days.

These viral clips have led many US consumers to realize that buying directly from Chinese e-commerce platforms, despite shipping fees and potential tariffs, can still be significantly cheaper than purchasing the same goods from local retailers. As a result, platforms like DHgate and Taobao have seen explosive growth in downloads.

In fact, this unexpected boom, sparked by trade friction, highlights the maturity of China's cross-border e-commerce infrastructure, from logistics to digital payments. With Cainiao cargo planes soaring over New York and influencers in Los Angeles livestreaming in Hangzhou-made qipaos, Chinese e-commerce is not only forging new global trade routes but also bridging the information gap in global consumer markets.

Source: Lingnan On the Cloud

爆火！淘宝、敦煌网霸榜美国下载榜

谁也没想到，美国高举的关税大棒，已经先一步落在了自己的头上。

应用数据提供商Appfigures的数据显示，截至4月11日（上周五），敦煌网在美国非游戏类免费iPhone应用排行榜上还只排名第352位，但在4月13日，敦煌网在美国苹果应用商店的安装量增至11.75万次，较过去30天日均下载量增长732%，在这之后，敦煌网在美国苹果应用商店的总榜单上排名节节攀升，一度登顶。

与此同时，在海外多个国家和地区的App下载市场，淘宝人气暴涨、下载量狂飙。截至4月16日，淘宝已经冲上了美国App下载榜第二，同时在加拿大、英国等国家上升至第二，法国市场更是排名第一，下载量较关税风波前大幅上升。

这也使得中国跨境电商App一度霸榜美国应用商店免费榜的前三名，其中第一名是敦煌网、第二名是淘宝、第三名是SHEIN。

为何淘宝、敦煌网等在海外忽然爆火？有分析认为，一方面是特朗普的关税政策引发了美国消费者的价格担忧，不少人开始大量囤货中国商品。另一方面，在TikTok等社交平台上，“我们如何绕过关税”(How we bypass tariffs)成了热搜话题。一则展示了位于中国广东广州的服装工厂视频，称当地工厂为布克兄弟（Brooks Brothers）、汤米·希尔费格（Tommy Hilfiger）和雨果博斯（Hugo Boss）等欧美服装品牌供货，该视频在三天内获得了超过350万的观看量。

随着上述视频的走红，不少美国消费者发现，通过中国跨境电商平台购买商品，即使算上运费和关税，其最终价格也远低于美国本土的零售价格。这也使得敦煌网、淘宝等平台一下子走红，下载量激增。

实际上，这场由关税引发的意外狂欢，正折射出中国跨境电商从物流基建到数字支付系统的全面成熟。当菜鸟的货机翱翔在纽约上空，当洛杉矶网红直播试穿杭州旗袍，中国电商不仅建立了新的交易通路，而且打破了全球消费的信息差。

文丨记者 沈钊
翻译丨杨钧雅
审校丨王枥焓