Browse through social media today and you’re likely faced with an onslaught of adverts and reels showcasing a particular retailer. For the last few years, it’s been Temu (pronounced Tee-Moo), the app that claims you can ‘shop like a billionaire’.
This doesn’t mean you can find genuine gold bars, supersized diamonds and private jets in the mix. Instead, it means that the prices are so low that you can spend without worrying about going over budget.
Some fans have likened shopping on Temu to going into a branch of Flying Tiger. You stroll in for a browse and wind up walking out with a bag bulging with cute stationery, homewares and birthday decorations that you never knew you needed - often with change from a £20 bill.
Temu’s main draw is that the prices are incredibly, irresistibly low - we’re talking bathroom bins for 50p, and novelty sunglasses for a quid a pop. As shoppers relay tales of their cut-price Temu adventures to friends, word-of-mouth brings more people in. Shopper referrals also earn them credits, which in turn helps Temu’s popularity and reach to soar.
It doesn't hurt that Temu doles out money-off or discount vouchers practically every time you open the app. Since the items are coming from the Far East (mainly China), it makes sense to bulk buy to reduce the delivery cost and frequency to the UK. Ask around: you probably already have a designated Temu shopper in your friendship group.
What does Temu sell?
The online marketplace doesn’t sell own-brand goods but items from a third-party manufacturer, acting as the middleman. Everything from fashion basics and home storage to pet toys and kitchen gadgets is laid out in a grid format, so no two products look the same, giving you the buzz of seeing something new every time. Temu has mastered the gamification of e-commerce.
A search bar at the top helps shoppers navigate the mammoth choice, with best-sellers, new arrivals and top-rated product categories listed for inspiration too.
How good is Temu’s quality?
It varies greatly, with some products clearly made for single-use - think birthday candles and holiday decorations - but others you would expect would last a while, such as tech charging cables. With prices so low, it’s logical to think that the quality will be correspondingly poor too.
How does Temu offer such low prices?
The attention-grabbing prices make anyone wonder if they’re selling them so cheap, what do they cost to make in the first place?
One way is that Temu doesn’t pay for huge warehouses to keep the stuff you see on its app. It uses a direct-to-consumer model that sends orders to third-party sellers while only handling the shipping, drastically cutting its costs. As it’s selling mostly Chinese products, it doesn’t have to pay export fees either. And since most orders fall below the £135 mark, they won’t have to foot UK import duties.
The biggest concern? Concerns over forced and child labour in making the goods listed on Temu. While the company claims it has zero tolerance for such practices, there are no details as to how Temu ensures its suppliers are not using this kind of labour to make those sensationally low-priced items.
Are Temu products counterfeit?
While you might see handbags and makeup products that bear striking similarities to designer goods in the West, they’re made by companies we’ve never heard of and probably don’t meet basic UK safety standards.
Shoppers may not mind so much when buying novelty slippers or a bulk set of hair scrunchies, but the risk is obvious if you’re buying a toaster, hairdryer or toys for kids.
Is Temu killing the Earth?
While the site is not solely responsible for the destruction of our planet, most will agree that such aggressive selling techniques that lead to intense buying are not helping.
While Temu does offer a returns policy, with money or credit back between five to 14 business days, we have heard that the site sometimes doesn’t even ask for items to actually be sent back to their East Asian manufacturers. Presumably, the cost of a return exceeds the price of making and shipping out the item in the first place.
In this case, it means you’re left to deal with Temu purchases you don’t want, even if it’s free, essentially strewing even more rubbish across an already overburdened planet.
Is Temu better than eBay or Amazon?
All three marketplaces offer goods from companies you may not have heard of. Amazon triumphs on quality and delivery time - especially for Prime members buying Prime delivery items - and eBay offers the chance to score a bargain thanks to its auction-style platform. But if you’re looking for a rock-bottom price, Temu wins hand over fist.
But with serious safety concerns, counterfeit goods and poor quality rife, it’s up to you to decide what price you’re really paying by shopping on Temu.
