#temu has been searched over 300 million times on TikTok! How far is it from Shein's 9 billion?

For pennies you can "shop like a billionaire."

This is Temu, which is born on a similar path to the ultra-low-cost king Shein. Although it only started operating in September, it appeared in the Super Bowl advertisement, the largest entertainment program in the United States, and attracted 112 million viewers with two 30-second ads with Shein. In December, Temu had 44.5 million unique users in the United States, surpassing Shein for the first time. The latter reached 35.1 million in the last month of last year.

Temu sells everything from suitcases and bags to shoes, both for children and for men and women. In addition to fashion, Temu also sells pet, office and gardening supplies. At Temu, buyers can buy anything from lipstick to underwear for less than one euro, and even wedding dresses or gym leggings. The company works with express delivery companies FedEx and UPS, and its orders usually take 7 to 15 days, which is its main competitive advantage against its main competitor Shein.

The company will have gross merchandise value (GMV) of $192 million by January 2023, up from the $3 million it managed when it was founded in September, according to New York-based market research firm YipitData.

Where does this revolution in American e-commerce come from? The company originated in Boston and is owned by Chinese company PDD Holding, which also owns Pinduoduo Food E-commerce. The group is listed on Nasdaq and had sales of $14.7 billion in the last fiscal year. Temu is leveraging the company's well-oiled logistics mechanism in China to provide it with a strong marketing push and social media influence.

After Temu started operations in the United States, it has also expanded to Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, and plans to cross over to Canada in a short time, taking the first step in international expansion. Temu does not require a large infrastructure: the company allows Chinese manufacturers to send products directly to buyers without going through local warehouses, thereby reducing transportation costs.

Riding on the powerful reach of TikTok, the #temu hashtag has totaled more than 300 million searches. Despite the bet, he still has a long way to go to catch up with his main rival Shein, which has more than 9 billion searches on the Chinese app. Temu waives commissions and deposits from suppliers. There is speculation that Temu 's all-in has the potential to eclipse Shein, hitherto the king of ultra-cheap fashion.

Shein showed in a presentation to potential investors that the app has already created a seismic shift in the fashion industry, with a turnover of about $22.7 billion in 2022, more than H&M in the same year. And not just that. Sales are expected to reach $60 billion by 2025, more than the combined annual turnover of Inditex and H&M.

It is learned that in early March, Shein took Temu to court, accusing her of hiring social media influencers to make false statements about her. In addition, Shein also claimed that Temu "has changed its brand to deceive consumers." Shein hopes that Temu will stop taking advantage of the company's marketing activities.

Editor ✎Estella/

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