Taking the top four spots on the US app download list in March, what are the strengths of Chinese apps?

It is learned that according to the latest data from SensorTower, as of the first three weeks of March, the top four most downloaded applications in the United States in March were all Chinese apps, covering the two major tracks of social and e-commerce. Chinese apps have firmly established the title of "traffic harvester" in the United States.

It is reported that Temu, which has been online for seven months, became the most downloaded APP in the United States in March, followed by TikTok editing tool CapCut, then TikTok, and fast fashion Shein ranked fourth. During the peak shopping season before Christmas in the fourth quarter of last year, Temu was downloaded 13 million times in the United States.

Although TikTok is in dire straits in the United States and other apps are also at risk, these apps have become an indispensable part of the lives of American users and consumers. It can be said that these apps have not only gained huge traffic in the United States, but also successfully established user minds.

Moreover, since the audiences of these Chinese apps are similar, the traffic between the apps is mutually beneficial. After consuming on Temu or Shein, many young Americans will upload videos to TikTok and add tags such as #temuhaul or #sheinhaul, thus attracting more people to become users of the latter two apps.

Why are Chinese apps gaining ground in the United States?

The reason why Chinese apps can gain a foothold in the United States is inseparable from the support of a large number of highly invested technical talents. According to the Wall Street Journal, although Temu is a shopping website, more than half of its employees are engineers. The technical staff collects user feedback, continuously tests and iterates the product, and then polishes it to create a user-satisfied experience.

Moreover, heavy investment is also an important factor in the Chinese apps’ success in capturing the US market. Since entering the US, Temu has invested a lot of money in publicity and promotion, from Facebook ads to targeted emails, and spent nearly $15 million on Super Bowl ads in February this year.

The heavy investment has indeed brought corresponding returns. On the day of the Super Bowl, Temu's downloads surged by 45%, and the number of daily active users increased by about 20% compared with the previous day. Since February, Temu's monthly active users have reached 13.4 million, surpassing a number of giants such as Target and Walmart.

However, TikTok's current situation in the United States has caused other overseas applications to panic. In order to avoid censorship, Shein and Temu are trying to separate from the domestic market. In 2021, Shein changed its parent company's registration from Hong Kong to Singapore. Temu is headquartered in Boston and operates its US business through a company based in Delaware.

Editor✎ Ashley/

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