This is Temu, the marketplace of Chinese origin that is taking the US by storm thanks to its low prices

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The great push that the chinese e-commerce In the Western world, it has been more than demonstrated through brands such as Aliexpress and SheIn, which have come to conquer many buyers, becoming Amazon’s major competitors.

Now we see the Temu’s US market entrya new Chinese online shopping platform, which is a global version of Chinese group purchasing company pinduoduo. The app was launched in September 2022 and in a very short time it has become one of the most downloaded in that country, accumulating more than 5 million downloads on iOS and Android. It is expected that by the first half of 2023 the platform will be available in Canada and also in Spain.

Temu, a marketplace full of possibilities at very competitive prices

Temu’s homepage is a bit reminiscent of SheIn, but there is much more to it than just fashion. With 100 categories available it is possible to find everything from products for the home, jewelry, electronics and even products for pets, to surprisingly low pricesso it has become the perfect alternative to overcome the inflation that exists in the United States.

In order to attract as many customers as possible in the US market, Temu has launched a aggressive social Media Ads Campaign, with 30% discount coupons and even offering free products to users who get their friends and family to sign up on the platform.

What makes Temu different from the others?

One of Temu’s key differentiating points is, of course, his low prices, being possible to get wireless headphones for 0.49 dollars (0.46 euros), packs of 5 socks for 0.79 dollars (0.74 euros) women’s dresses for less than 20 dollars (18.63 euros) and even find banners Offers of up to 90% discount. The key to achieving these prices is that its products come directly from Chinese manufacturers and warehouses, bypassing the intermediaries.

Another key point is the Delivery time which, they promise, is between 7 and 15 business days, although 80% of shipments are completed in less than 10 days. Despite being longer than Amazon offers, whose deliveries usually take less than 7 days, it is definitely much shorter than that of other Chinese eCommerce such as SheIn and Aliexpress, whose packages can take several weeks to arrive.

On their website they explain: “it is important to bear in mind that it is possible that see longer delivery times than you are used to on other eCommerce websites. This is due to the fact that the items may come from another country or need to be grouped or packed with other items of similar size.”

The costs of shipping are free in purchases equal to or greater than 49 dollars (45.66 euros) and in terms of returns, these are also free, which gives Temu another point in favor.

Temu’s dark side

Despite all the wonders that Temu offers and promises on its website and the success it has been having in the United States, the organization Better Business Bureau (BBB) ​​has received 31 complaints of the platform for undelivered or incorrect packages and inoperative customer service. Temu has a C rating on the BBB and an average customer rating of 1.4 stars out of 5.

On the other hand, some experts point out that Temu’s low prices could pressure other major e-commerce players to lower their costs and modify their price structure, directly affecting the wages of workers. In addition to this, the mass production and export from China could affect the production chain in the United States, because it is simply cheaper to buy from Asian companies than to produce in the country.

Photo: Depositphotos

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