Temu Becomes E-Commerce Giant In Under Two Years: Here’s How

In less than two years since its inception, Temu has become one of the world’s largest online shopping marketplaces.

The Chinese start-up, competing with e-commerce giants like Amazon and eBay, has captivated the market by enabling vendors to ship products directly from China to international consumers. 

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This strategy has driven the company toward an impressive $1.3 billion in annual sales.

So, what fuels Temu’s rapid growth and burgeoning global presence? 

On today’s episode of The Briefing, we spoke with Dr Sahsha Wang from the Queensland University of Technology to uncover the secrets behind the company’s success.

A recent study by Roy Morgan has revealed that over 1.2 million Australians shop on the platform each month, making it the most downloaded app in the country. 

However, this business model comes with trade-offs. Temu’s delivery times are often longer than companies like Amazon, due to international shipping processes involving customs and road transport logistics. 

Despite this, the cost savings and product variety keep customers coming back.

“Temu started their business at a very good opportunity, which is right after COVID, and that’s the timing when people try to hold their money, and they try to look for value,” Dr Wang said.

She said “Temu” stands for “team up, prices down,” representing the company’s mission to make quality products accessible at lower prices through collective buying power. 

“They can actually link with our searching keywords, and based on our personal information, for example, our age, gender, maybe we have a pet or not, and also our recent searching keywords.”

However, the company faces scrutiny over several ethical concerns, such as potential forced labour, lack of transparency in supply chains, environmental impacts, and questions surrounding product safety and quality. 

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