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Earphones for $9, sweaters for $10… China’s ultra-low-cost shopping platform Temu is the ‘most downloaded’ sensation
On the 26th (local time), China’s ultra-low-cost shopping platform ‘Temu’ ranked first in the shopping category of the U.S. iPhone App Store, surpassing the world’s largest shopping platform Amazon and America’s largest retailer Walmart. (Left) At Temu, sunglasses cost $3.74 and $13.04. Digital cameras for children are being sold. App Store, Temu Capture
On the 26th (local time), an unfamiliar app ranked first in the shopping section of the US iPhone application (app) market App Store. Temu is an online shopping mall created by the Chinese company Pinduoduo. Temu mainly sells ultra-low priced products. As of today, the #1 bestseller is wireless earphones priced at $8.98. Another popular item is a children’s digital camera for about $13, a sweater for $10, sneakers for $14, and a pack of five socks for less than $2.
Temu’s popularity is sensational. According to app market research company Sensor Tower, Temu, which debuted in the U.S. market in September, was installed more than 10.8 million times in the U.S. in just three months. From last month to the middle of this month, the most installed app in the United States was Temu. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported, “Temu’s November sales increased four times compared to October.”
A Chinese shopping platform featuring ultra-low-price products is causing a sensation in the United States. Even as the U.S.-China conflict escalates and the U.S. government keeps Chinese companies in check, ultra-low-price shopping malls are enjoying a syndrome of popularity in the U.S. market.
The main reason why Americans are so enthusiastic about Temu is ①inflation. The rise of Temu was caused by the rapidly increasing demand for low-priced products due to record-high inflation. ②Temu’s strategy of focusing on teenagers is also analyzed to be effective. Discount coupons are provided when you promote Temu on social networking services (SNS), and Temu used this marketing strategy to create a word-of-mouth effect among teenagers.
If the price hadn’t been surprisingly cheap in the first place, it wouldn’t have received much attention. ③Temu dramatically reduced costs by shipping directly from China to the United States rather than having an offline store. They took advantage of the fact that China has been exempting export tariffs only for products shipped directly to the United States since 2018, and that the United States does not impose tariffs on international mail under $800. Since the ordered items come across the sea, the delivery period, which inevitably takes more than a week, is considered a weakness of Temu. However, Temu compensated for this by offering benefits such as ④free returns within 90 days and unconditional compensation for delayed delivery.
This is not the first time that a Chinese ultra-low-cost shopping app has become a trend in the United States. Shein, a clothing shopping mall that mainly sells clothes priced around $10, gained great popularity among American teenagers during the pandemic and emerged as a rival to Amazon. In the second quarter, the number of Shein apps downloaded in the United States was 6.8 million, which was more than Amazon (6.3 million). Thanks to capturing the U.S. market, Shein’s corporate value, which was valued at $2.5 billion in 2018, jumped to $100 billion (approximately KRW 126.53 trillion) in April this year.
However, as their popularity grows, criticism and concerns about Chinese ultra-low-priced shopping malls are also growing. It is said that these platforms are encouraging environmental pollution by openly handling imitation products and distributing large quantities of products that will be discarded after one use. In fact, Shein received a score of 1 out of 5 on goodonyou, a site that evaluates the sustainability of fashion brands, and was selected as a ‘brand to avoid’. When it became known that workers’ human rights were being violated in order to produce ultra-cheap clothes in a short period of time, a boycott broke out in the United States.
As if conscious of this, Temu is publicly making promises such as protecting intellectual property rights and reducing carbon emissions. It also promised thorough encryption of consumer data. This can be interpreted as a determination not to follow in the footsteps of TikTok, a short-form (short video) platform that is even moving to ban its use in the United States due to privacy issues.
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‘Ultra-low price surge’ breaks through US-China conflict… The secret to the popularity of Chinese shopping mall Temu
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