What is Temu and why is it so cheap?

For ordering all manner of goods online to be delivered to your home, Amazon is a global leader in the space.

With the click of a button, customers can order items to be delivered, often the next day, by Amazon delivery drivers.

But now, a new e-commerce platform named Temu is emerging as a real challenger to Amazon’s apparent monopoly.

What is Temu?

Temu is a Chinese shopping app that launched in the UK just four months ago and is already becoming popular thanks to its cheap offerings.

Pronounced “tee-moo”, The Times reports the app has been downloaded more than nine million times in the UK, remaining at the number one spot of the most downloaded shopping apps.

It is owned by the Chinese e-commerce giant PDD, which also owns the marketplace Pinduodu, and has received comparisons to other low-cost sites like AliExpress and Wish.

Temu sells low-cost items directly from China where they are produced. Their offerings range from clothing and jewellery to beauty products and homeware.

On top of their already cheap products, Temu also offers “lightning” sales, where products can be sold for 99 per cent off.

How has Temu become so successful?

Marketing has been a big part of the app’s success after it invested approximately $14 million (£11.2 million) on adverts to play during the Super Bowl – a sporting event watched by millions.

Additionally, it has placed more than 8,000 ads on Meta platforms (Facebook, Instagram, etc) in 2023 alone.

The app also rewards users and influencers for sharing the app with their friends and followers, offering special deals for those who do.

While previously only available in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, Temu has taken the UK by storm since becoming available in April.

It now also operates in France, Spain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Japan, South Korea and the Phillippines.

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