DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.30576341
title: Dataset for: <b><i>Understanding the Consumers’ Attitude-Behavior Gap - Analysis of Buying Behavior at Chinese E-Commerce Platforms (TEMU and SHEIN)</i></b>

description: In the recent years, many Chinese e-commerce platforms, for example TEMU, SHEIN and Alibaba, have been gaining a remarkable traction on the global market. These platforms attract millions of consumers every year, with their affordable prices, trendy fast fashion items, and very aggressive online marketing. According to the latest data, TEMU has around 292 million monthly active users, and their annual sales are estimated at 70.8 billion American dollars (Backlinko, 2025). SHEIN is also a largely popular and used app; in 2024, it was the second most downloaded shopping app worldwide, with approximately 235 million downloads (Analyzify, 2025). However, this growth in popularity raises some important questions about consumer behavior, particularly about the gap between consumers expressed attitudes, which would be the concern for ethical production, sustainability, or fair labor, and their actual purchasing decisions. This phenomenon, known as the <i>attitude-behavior gap</i>, has become increasingly relevant in the digital retail age.Attitude-behavior gap, also known as the value-action gap or the intention-behavior gap, describes the discrepancy between our intentions, or what we plan to achieve, and our actual actions, or what we ultimately do (Ajzen/Fishbein 1975, p. 39). An example of such behavior is when someone claims they care about the environment and says they want to reduce waste but don’t engage in eco-friendly practices in their daily life. This gap happens for many reasons, such as habits, convenience, price, or simply not thinking about it in the moment. (Zhuo/Ren/Zhu 2022, p. 16)The topic of attitude-behavior gap has been explored in many academic publications and other works but mostly in the context of traditional retail and Western fast fashion brands, such as Zara and H&M. There is, however, a lack of focused research on Chinese e-commerce platforms, like SHEIN and TEMU. These platforms operate with unique business models and digital strategies and are therefore a suitable topic for closer examination, especially in relation to consumer perceptions of sustainability, which is a very current topic nowadays.In this thesis the focus will be on the two following companies, TEMU and SHEIN. These two companies are the biggest players on the Chinese e-commerce market and are also among the most popular platforms in the FMCG (Fast-Moving Consumer Goods) sector, as can be seen from the numbers above.The aim of this thesis is to explore the gap in customer behavior, as well as to understand the psychological, social, and economic factors that influence consumer choices, and finding an answer to why conscious intentions often fail to translate into ethical actions online.The research of this master thesis will focus on three central questions. First, it will seek to answer why do customers shop at these platforms (SHEIN and TEMU), and if they care about sustainability while doing so. Second, it will investigate what factors contribute to the attitude-behavior gap. Finally, it will explore what are consumers expressed attitudes towards sustainability in online shopping on these Chinese e-commerce platforms (SHEIN and TEMU).The planned methodology of this thesis focuses on empirical research in the form of a consumer survey. A questionnaire will be developed based on the theory of the attitude-behavior gap, and it will also explore real world shopping behavior in comparison to respondents stated attitudes toward sustainability.The target group will consist of people who shop on platforms, TEMU and SHEIN. Participants will be reached mainly through social media channels (e.g., Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn), where a link to the questionnaire will be shared, as well as through a paid survey platform called SurveySwap. A portion of the respondents will also be reached through personal contact. The estimated number of participants is between 100 and 150.In this thesis, the focus will be first on providing the context and applicable theories on the topic of attitude-behavior gap. Second, the focus will be on ethical and sustainable consumerism, describing correlation to the topic of the thesis and providing more dept to the topic. The third section will provide an overview of the Chinese e-commerce ecosystem, subsequently the following two chapters will describe and explore the two mentioned Chinese companies, SHEIN and TEMU, and will provide an overview of their environmental and ethical role on the consumers. The last part will present new findings on how attitude-behavior gap effects the consumers shopping on these platforms. A concluding section will derive final insights from the empirical findings