Pinduoduo Temu downloads exceed 10,000, and multiple products have been sold

Temu APP has been online for 10 days and has been downloaded more than 10,000 times, with a significant increase in users. Yien.com noticed that its web version has made some adjustments, and there are new preferential measures in price and shipping costs to attract new customers. However, many products on the platform have been collectively sold at $0.99 recently, which has been criticized. Some sellers joked that they can buy goods from Temu and sell them on Amazon.

Free shipping for a limited time, Temu downloads soar

On Google Play, Temu has been downloaded more than 10,000 times and has a rating of 4.8. Many users have given it five-star reviews, saying it is cheap and easy to use.

——"The shopping experience at Temu is amazing!!! All the products here are genuine and cheap, and the refund option is really convenient."

—— "Great app created by Asian e-commerce giant PDD. Responsive customer service, free shipping, and free returns for more than 90 days."

As a shopping platform that has only been online for 10 days, this data is very impressive. From the website, it can be seen that most of the products displayed on the homepage have been sold.

Compared to when it was first launched, the Temu website has modified the navigation bar to highlight Best Sellers and New In, and hide specific categories under the "Category" button, making the key content clear at a glance.

In addition, Temu offers three 30% discount coupons for users, with no minimum spending requirement and up to $30 off. The coupons are valid for two weeks and can be used to purchase back-to-school items, jewelry, Halloween-related items, and 3C electronics.

For example, a pair of Bluetooth headphones has a strike-through price of $5.39 and a display price of $3.78. When the buyer checks out, he or she can save $1.61 by using a discount coupon, so the actual payment is only $3.78.

Among the Best Sellers, some outstanding products have received orders of over 100 or 200. A Halloween ghost brooch sold 204 pieces, and another projector with aerospace elements sold 173 pieces.

But recently, when many sellers were observing the situation on the platform, they found that many products were priced at US$0.99, ranging from 3C products to outerwear. This made everyone worried about the price involution on Temu.

A seller found that a Lenovo Bluetooth speaker was priced at only $0.99. Even on domestic e-commerce platforms, the price of this product is around RMB 40. It is hard to imagine where the profit comes from, considering the product cost plus shipping costs. Sellers exclaimed: " This price is too low. We are going to be squeezed out . "

Some people immediately said they wanted to place an order to buy a few "0.99" products. Some sellers also joked that with such low prices, they could just buy from Temu and sell on Amazon.

One seller analyzed: Is the $0.99 price exclusive to new customers and limited to purchase? If not, it can only be said that the platform is financially strong. Sure enough, when a seller tried to place an order, he found that the product priced at $0.99 was limited to purchase only one per person.

At present, the price of the speaker mentioned above has risen to $10.49, and the prices of other 0.99 products have also rebounded. In this way, the short-term 0.99 products are more like a strategic "order temptation".

In order to attract consumers to place orders, Temu also adjusted its shipping policy. Initially, the platform stipulated that users' orders over $49 would have free shipping, and orders under $49 would have a shipping fee of $2.99. Later, it announced that the platform would waive shipping fees for all orders from September 6 to 10. If delivery is delayed, buyers can get a full refund.

But overall, some of the sellers who have settled in are disappointed. " As a merchant who has already settled in , I just want to say ' it's not interesting at all '. The platform selects products and recruits investors without considering the style or quality, and just demands low prices. " said one of them.

During the investment promotion stage, Pinduoduo's cross-border platform was highly sought after, but its operating model and merchant positioning were obviously more suitable for factory-type sellers. The platform would constantly select the suppliers with the best prices. Traders who were originally earning sales price differences found it difficult to get higher profits when Temu controlled the settlement price. After understanding these situations, some sellers were persuaded to withdraw.

Pinduoduo faces challenges in entering the US market

Some sellers in the industry bluntly stated that the model of Temu is exactly the same as that of SHEIN. There are also foreign media reports that Temu is an imitator of SHEIN.

In fact, from the current perspective, whether in terms of business model or other aspects, the two are highly similar. The launch of Temu is undoubtedly a head-on confrontation with SHEIN.

Temu purchases goods from suppliers, sets prices and sells them to consumers, acting as a retailer itself. By adopting this strategy, the platform is able to better manage supply, logistics, fulfillment, and provide high-quality after-sales service and customer support, similar to SHEIN.

Previously, people familiar with the matter said that before Temu went online, it had specifically invited SHEIN's suppliers to settle in, and Pinduoduo's supply chain team also moved to SHEIN's supplier gathering place - Panyu, Guangzhou.

There are also related news that the Temu project had targeted contact with SHEIN employees during the preparation stage, and many SHEIN employees also confirmed that they received the olive branch from Pinduoduo's overseas project, and Pinduoduo offered competitive salaries. Among them, the monthly salary for overseas social operation positions is 20-30K, 16 salaries, and the work location is Shanghai; the monthly salary for the operation manager position is 20-40K, 14 salaries, and the work location is Panyu.

In many ways, Temu is trying to become SHEIN. And thanks to Pinduoduo's accumulated supply chain advantages in China, the prices of many products provided by Temu are lower than SHEIN.

Temu means "Team Up, Price Down", and its positioning is obviously low price, which is exactly the same as Pinduoduo's strategy in China. Pinduoduo has grown rapidly in the domestic market just by relying on its low price advantage. Can it replicate this model overseas?

Some foreign media reports pointed out that Pinduoduo still faces considerable challenges in entering the US market.

First, it is necessary to establish a brand reputation. Most American consumers will directly choose Amazon when shopping online. Amazon's brand influence has been deeply rooted in people's minds, and the platform has a good shopping experience. However, Temu is not yet known to most people, and the number of its fans on several foreign social media channels is also limited.

Secondly, Temu needs to cultivate customer trust and awareness. Currently , there are not many types of products on Temu, and some subcategories only have one or two products to choose from. Compared with the massive products on Amazon, Temu's product richness is not enough, so consumers have no awareness of placing orders from the platform.

Finally, we need to improve the efficiency of logistics and delivery. It takes 7-15 business days for Temu's products to be delivered to the United States, which may take longer than other e-commerce websites. Temu mentioned that this is because the products come from another country or need to be bundled or packaged with other items of similar size. This waiting time may greatly reduce the consumption desire of some people. Compared with the same-day or next-day delivery provided by Amazon through its Prime subscription service, Temu will be affected by longer shipping times.

However, people familiar with the matter revealed that Pinduoduo is setting up its own logistics line. Jitu Express, which is deeply bound to Pinduoduo, signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with HNA Cargo Co., Ltd. in August this year. The two parties agreed to carry out air logistics cooperation on a global scale.

And as the number of Temu suppliers increases, the richness of its website products will be greatly improved. More importantly, Temu's prices are really competitive, which will be a major advantage in its competition with Amazon.

After seven years of development, Pinduoduo has rapidly grown into one of the largest e-commerce companies in China. The key to its success is to attract low-spending groups through large discounts. Now it seems that it is still continuing the domestic model overseas. Many analysts believe that this model alone will definitely fail to adapt to the local environment.

Pinduoduo, cross-border