Despite the controversy surrounding them, these low-cost retailers remain incredibly popular among Gen Z. According to research from app intelligence firm Appfigures, the most popular app among U.S. users ages 18 to 24 was Temu, with almost 42 million downloads in that demographic between January and October 2024. For Shein, that estimate is about 14.7 million downloads, though it’s possible that the difference in download numbers is that stark because Gen Z users have already downloaded Shein, which has been around longer than Temu.