Temu catapulted into the ranks of the most visited websites in the world, just four months after the launch of the e-commerce platform.
Temu (pronounced tee-moo) logged 50.5 million monthly visits by December, registering a 91% month-on-month growth, according to traffic figures from Crunchbase. That made Temu the 1,937th ranked website globally, out of the estimated 1.1 billion websites globally.
The website traffic mirrored the surge in Temu’s mobile apps downloads. Launched in September 2022, Temu took just two months to become the most installed app in America in any category with 10.8 million downloads from Nov. 1 to Dec. 14, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing data from Sensor Tower.
Beyond just the ultracompetitive prices, consumers have also taken to Temu because of its generous polices on returns as retailers elsewhere are going the opposite way of making customers pay. CNN reported that Zara, H&M, J.Crew, Anthropologie, Abercrombie & Fitch and other chains are now charging customers fees of up to $7 to return items online.
With Temu’s Purchase Protection program, buyers can receive a full refund if their item does not arrive, is not as described on the platform, or arrives damaged. Most items can be returned within 90 days. Additionally, Temu provides a credit of $5-$13 for any order that arrives late.
`Excellent Experience’
Valencia Miller is among millions of consumers who have shopped on Temu and came away pleasantly surprised.
“I’ve received several items from Temu and was pleasantly surprised! The shipping time was very fast. I received my items in about a week and the quality was great!” said Miller in a Trustpilot review. “Free shipping and coupons on top of their already low prices. Thanks TEMU for an excellent shopping experience!”
Temu owes its meteoric rise to the strong backing of its parent company, PDD Holdings (NASDAQ: PDD), which made its NASDAQ debut in 2018 and has a market capitalization of $100 billion.
With over a decade of experience in the commerce and trade industry, PDD Holdings has established partnerships with 11 million global suppliers and brands. Its extensive sourcing, fulfillment, and logistics network benefits Temu, which has been able to scale up its product range rapidly and provide reliable fulfillment services from the start.
Interests Align
As a pure platform, Temu’s interests are also aligned with both consumers and sellers. Without its own brands, Temu does not compete with the merchants its hosts in selling products to the same consumers. Quite the opposite, Temu provides consumer data insights to its sellers to help them better match their products to consumer needs when and where they need it.
The pure e-commerce platform model and the use of advanced technology has enabled companies, especially rising stars in e-commerce marketplaces like Temu, to flourish.
By connecting sellers directly to consumers, the sellers can increase their reach and exposure to their target customers, improve their product offerings and customer satisfaction, as well as make more effective, informed internal and external company decisions.
Customer Value
So, what does this mean for Temu customers moving forward? It is a path of greater emphasis on customer value – giving them even more of what they want, when they want it and how they want it.
As Chen Lei, CEO of PDD Holdings, put it: “We fully respect that there are many differences across different markets. And we also understand the need to constantly experiment, and we expect that the process will be full of challenges.”
“We will be patient and work together with our partners to create long-term value for consumers,” he added.
