Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

December 26 (Xinhua)-- with US consumers increasingly worried about inflation and recession, many are turning to a new mobile app from China, pinduoduo's overseas version of Temu. Temu has soared in popularity in the United States since its launch in September and has recently become the most downloaded app.

In less than four months of launch, Temu has been installed 1080 times in the United States, making it the most downloaded mobile app in the United States between November 1 and December 14, according to market analyst firm Sensor Tower. When Kathy Kathy Benetti first tried Temu on Thanksgiving, she didn't plan to spend money. But as time went on, she was shocked by the low price of the goods above. Before she knew it, her shopping cart was full of 14 items, totaling $90.

A bag of meat tenderizer costs $0.69, a sweater is as cheap as $10, and a jacket for your son as a Christmas present costs only $15. Benetti, 68, an office manager at a storage facility in Dartmouth, Mass., said she was impressed that so many items were cheaper than Amazon. Her order will be delivered within the promised 7 to 15 working days. "you may not get the best product, but it doesn't matter," she said. " A few days later, she bought Christmas shopping again on Temu, this time spending $223 on 34 items.

Shoppers like Benetti helped Temu's sales increase about fourfold in November from October, peaking at the Black Friday shopping festival, when daily sales reached $7 million for seven days, according to market research firm YipitData. Although Temu is still small, its rapid rise is reminiscent of Chinese cross-border e-commerce giant Shein and byte jump's short video app TikTok.

The rapid growth of Temu contrasts sharply with the bleak prospects faced by other retailers in the face of economic uncertainty. It competes not only with Shein, but also with established giants such as Amazon. The growing popularity of Temu shows that the business model of selling cheap Chinese-made products to US consumers has great potential.

Temu is a cross-border e-commerce launched by pinduoduo, and its parent company is seen as one of the Internet disrupters in China. In the past seven years, pinduoduo has attracted more than 70% of domestic Internet users and is constantly looking for new markets. When Temu launched in September, pinduoduo was not mentioned on its website, but it now admits to being a subsidiary of pinduoduo. However, Temu says it started in Boston, sourcing products around the world and running its US business through Delaware-based companies. At the same time, a Singapore entity is working with customers outside the United States.

On its website, Temu promises to protect intellectual property rights, offset carbon emissions and encrypt consumer data. Both Shein and TikTok are under scrutiny for these issues.

Temu effectively replicates pinduoduo's domestic business model. This model focuses on consumers in less affluent areas, encouraging them to unite to strike deals. Like pinduoduo, Temu generously gives coupons and other incentives to consumers if they advertise on their social networks.

Most Temu bestsellers sell for less than $10 and are unheard of brands, but one bestseller, headphones, is listed at $8.47, 40 per cent lower than Amazon. After receiving the coupon, consumers can buy it for as little as $3. According to the product page, more than 100000 headphones have been sold on Temu.

Xin Yongchun, a 50-year-old engineer in Poughkeepsie, New York, said he was attracted by the headphones he shared while chatting with an old friend in September. An hour later, he had three pairs of headphones, a dozen cat toys and a potato crusher in his shopping cart. Over the next two months, Mr. Xin bought two more things on Temu. He now compares prices on Temu and Amazon.com before shopping. "Amazon delivers faster, but I don't mind waiting two more days," he said. "

Data from Temu show that during the Christmas season, most customers can receive their purchases within 11 days. If it takes longer than expected, the site will offer a $5 coupon.

Ma Rui, founder of consulting firm Tech Buzz China, said Temu is adopting the business model of Sido, with several bestsellers hanging on it to attract attention as loss-making products.

A spokesman for Temu said the company can reduce prices through a multi-supply chain, and the cost savings will be passed on to consumers. In addition, Temu provides tools that enable sellers to better manage production and inventory, thereby reducing costs.

Unlike Shein, which sells its own brand of clothing on its platform, Temu is a pure third-party market. According to reports, Shein is also considering adding marketing functions to allow third-party merchants to sell goods directly to customers.

Pinduoduo did not release specific income figures for Temu. 'The impact of Temu on the parent company's finances is very small, 'Liu Xi, the company's vice president of finance, said on an analyst conference call in November. Temu declined to comment on whether to provide cash subsidies to sellers or how to make money.

Benetti learned in early December that introducing Temu to a friend would earn $10. She plans to share the recommendation link with her sister and will consider giving up her Amazon Prime membership if she likes the products she ordered on December 9. "I think I will go shopping on Temu from now on because there is everything there," Benetti said.

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