“Shop like a billionaire” (“buy like a billionaire”). We owe this slogan to the new Temu e-commerce phenomenon. Originally from China, this competitor platform of Amazon, Wish or AliExpress is a real success.
The most downloaded free app, Temu, enabled Pinduoduo, its parent company, to generate 4.8 billion euros in revenue in the first quarter of 2023.
Founded in July 2022, launched in the United States in December of the same year and landed in France in April 2023, Temu is a sort of Shein (fast fashion giant) where you can find products of all kinds. From phone cases to toys to the most extravagant gadgets, everything is available on Temu. An infinite catalog that allows Pinduoduo to position itself as the Chinese number three in online commerce, behind the giant Alibaba and JD.com.
But how did Temu, who didn’t exist in France until a few months ago, make all his competitors forget? Merit of known ingredients, already used by some rivals, and good timing.
Unbelievable prices
It is also one of the ingredients used by its competitors, but Temu goes further. The great strength of the platform, these are the prices shown. Shoes, toys, gadgets for a few tens of cents, it exists. And all without prohibitive shipping costs.
Shame on ecology, overconsumption and other core values. In an inflationary environment, users look at their wallet first. So when a product is available ten to a hundred times cheaper than elsewhere, don’t hesitate.
How does Temu do on the edge? She doesn’t leave. Launched in its first phase of conquest, the brand seeks above all to sell at bargain prices. “Phase two is to propose offers where you have an advantage over the competition” explain in the world Jeffrey Towson, strategic consultant and specialist in Chinese digital companies. And to add:
In China, Pinduoduo (Temu’s parent company) started out in small towns selling at bargain prices, then came up with more expensive products on which margins can be made.
A marketing machine
To seduce users Temu puts the means of its ambitions. First of all with marketing codes well known to this type of platforms: an application with a familiar graphic card to not lose the customer in this infinite catalog, great promo codes (up to -90%), flash sales, all with appropriate color codes, flashing banners and other tricks to attract users’ attention.
“Temu’s model has a clear goal: acquire users as quickly as possible, compete with suppliers to offer the best at the lowest price and repeat the process” Ivy Yang, communication consultant, explains to Mondo.
A smooth communication
Offering an attractively priced catalog with impressive promotions is one thing. Others have done so, with varying degrees of success. AliExpress, for example, has tried to make it big internationally, but its success remains modest when compared to Temu’s. So how does the newcomer win the day? Communicate. And he’s doing it right.
First of all on social networks, by multiplying the ads. Instagram, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) or even TikTok, Temu is everywhere, always. Even influencers do not hesitate to talk about this platform, especially those who have focused their content strategy on “purchasing power” suggestions. Like Action or Lidl, Temu has its own fan club.
The company has understood the power of social networks and offers free products on its platform as long as they promote them on social networks. You don’t need to be an influencer for this. Any user can take part in the exercise.
This international influence, Temu also anchored it in people’s minds by inviting himself to the most watched TV event in the world. The company has offered a Super Bowl halftime commercial. Amount of the operation: 7 million dollars for 30 seconds of exposure and the hope of seeing the slogan “Shop like a billionaire” anchored in all minds.
Already controversy
Like any star, Temu must pay the ransom for his glory. Caught in the whirlwind of threats by Western authorities against Chinese companies, Temu has already been singled out for her practices.
In the United States the company is accused by the House of Representatives of “exploit trade loopholes to import goods without paying import duties or subjecting shipments to human rights scrutiny.”
Temu also asks questions about security. The Pinduoduo app was removed from the Android and iOS app stores in the spring. The reason: The releases contained malicious software (malware) and Pinduoduo requested access to sensitive data such as biometrics.
What to marvel at the security of the Temu application, developed by the same company. In the United States, the governor of Montana has banned it from being used on all government employee devices. In Europe, the implementation of DMA and DSA will force Temu, like all other companies operating on the web, to comply with the new rules starting from 2024.
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