Algorithms control the shopping cart – this is how online platforms transform shopping decisions

By: Trademagazin Date: 2025. 06. 09. 11:08

Impulse buying is no longer just a consumer psychology, but a business model: Chinese e-commerce giants – led by Temu and Shein – have opened a new era in digital shopping. The latest part of the NAPICSÁRT video series on the Pénzcentrum website shows how algorithms shape consumer decisions, and what business and sustainability challenges this poses for the global and domestic retail sector.

Online shopping is no longer a mere transaction, but an impulse system

Online shopping is now much more of an experience than a need-based decision. The consumer journey is lined with targeted advertising, personalized newsletters, push notifications and social media recommendations. All of this is imperceptibly shaping the content of our basket – and with it our consumer identity.

Chinese giants, global impact: Temu and Shein

The video indirectly but clearly shows: platforms such as Temu or Shein have radically transformed Hungarian online shopping habits. Low prices, fast delivery and free returns seemingly remove all obstacles from the path of shopping – while leaving behind unsustainable overconsumption, dubious products and serious environmental burdens.

The cruel reality of fast fashion

While more and more people are buying new clothes on a weekly basis, according to our data, we wear a fast fashion item only seven times on average – before it ends up in the trash. The return spiral doesn’t help either: every fourth customer returns at least one piece of clothing, and every sixth returns shoes – this means hundreds of billions of dollars in losses globally every year and a huge ecological footprint.

Do we really decide – or does the algorithm?

According to NAPICSÁRT data, the most popular online products are travel, household goods and event tickets, but clothing products continue to dominate – especially among women. The problem is that these purchases are often based not on real needs, but on impulses generated by algorithms.