SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — The Chinese e-commerce app Temu has become an internet sensation for its shockingly low prices.
Launching in September 2022, Temu had less than 5 million users — but that number has skyrocketed to 104.2 million as of April 2023.
Temu has a little bit of everything, except for food, with categories ranging from clothes, beauty and shoes to hardware, musical instruments and cell phones.
The app features wireless speakers for $11.99, outdoor lights for $5.97 and drones for $20.48, with average free deliveries taking around 10 days.
How do they keep their prices low? According to Temu, they have direct access to their suppliers, which reduces the cost of a middleman between buyer and seller.
Also, the majority of products are made and shipped directly from China.
You get what you pay for is the sentiment from many Temu users who know the production may not be up to par, but the price is too good to pass up.
Temu knows the West struggles with inflation and purposely lowers its prices to appeal to the American market, even if that means losing money.
In a report by WIRED, they found that Temu loses $30 on average per order, with the company Chinese Merchants Securities calculating that the app will lose between $588 million to $954 million a year.
Can you trust Temu? For the most part, the products you order are real with a majority of them in working order. But products not recommended to buy, according to ZDNet, are electronics.
The only technology brands that are certified with a blue check on Temu are Xiaomi and Lenovo.
With Halloween, Black Friday and Christmas steadily approaching, Temu could be a possible option to find cheap costumes or gifts. Shop with caution.
