What is Temu? Everything you need to know before you buy from the shopping app

You've probably heard the name floating around... but how legit is it? And should you buy from it?

You may have heard your kids banging on about a new shopping app called Temu. Or perhaps those ads keep popping up on your social media feed?

It’s taken the world by storm with its huge array of products for incredibly cheap prices.

But what actually is Temu? Is it legit? And should you buy from it?

Here’s everything you need to know before you starting typing in your credit card. 

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Image: Supplied

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What is Temu?

Temu (pronounced tee-moo) is a Chinese-owned digital marketplace that is currently the number one free shopping app in the App Store and Google Play Store, beating other retail giants like Shein and Amazon.

Since its launch in late 2022, the app has surpassed a whopping 50 million downloads. 

You can buy basically anything you can imagine on the app, as there are tens of thousands of products across 100 different categories.

Categories include women's and men’s clothing, home and kitchen, baby clothes, kid's fashion, beauty and health, jewellery, toys and electronics.

You can even buy power tools, musical instruments, accessories for your car, office and school supplies, mobile phones and everything in between.

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How is it so cheap?

You might think Temu sounds like Shein, Wish, or AliExpress, but Temu’s distinctive feature is that it’s even cheaper than those stores. 

We’re talking, necklaces for $1, pet collars for $3 and tops for $8. You could even pick up a blender for as little as $10, air fryer for $15, smart watches for under $20 and even wedding dresses for as little as $30.

Most items are priced at less than $40, making it extremely competitive with other e-commerce websites. 

So how do they get prices so cheap? Well, it has something to do with Temu’s business model.

Instead of owning the products that they sell, Temu just facilitates the buying process.

The app streamlines the purchasing process by connecting shoppers with suppliers which ends up bringing down the costs of goods. Most of these suppliers are Chinese factories or warehouses.

Working with this network of suppliers means Temu can maintain its competitive pricing strategy.

Cloud slippers and Jibbitz for Crocs from Temu. Image: Supplied

Is it legit?

It all depends on how you define ‘legit’...

Yes, Temu is a real company operating out of Boston in the US. According to its website, they employ 10,000 employees around the world. 

Since starting, they’ve processed over 60 billion orders from over 11 million customers worldwide. So yes, the products on Temu are real.

But is the site legit, as in, actually good?

Well, some people claim that the things they ordered look slightly different than the photos on the website, the sizing can sometimes be off and the quality is quite low. Others have also reported that trying to get a refund is a nightmare.

Temu is also starting to get a reputation for undelivered packages, long shipping times, mysterious charges, incorrect orders and unresponsive customer service.

Basically, you get the products and services you pay for.

According to the Better Business Bureau, Temu has a customer rating of below 1.5 stars and over 600 complaints since it launched.

However, on social media, many people have made videos with positive reviews about the app and have said they were satisfied with the products they received.

A lot of people also love how many 'dupes' there are of popular brand-name products. 

Why is Temu controversial?

Like most websites and apps these days, Temu collects data from you. 

When you create an account and visit Temu's app home page, they can collect information such as your location, device ID, your search history, payment information and contacts. 

It's not known what they use this data for, but other apps use this sort of data to track users across different apps and websites, to better understand your shopping behaviour so they can target you with relevant ads. 

Other than privacy concerns, Temu is also controversial for failing to comply with the Uyghur Forced Labour Act. This means that there are doubts about its adherence to labour and human rights standards in China. 

According to a US congressional report published in June, "Temu fails to maintain "even the facade of a meaningful compliance program" that seeks to prevent goods made by forced labour from being sold on its platform."

So, should you buy from Temu?

It's completely up to you! The decision to shop with Temu should rest on your own personal comfort level with things such as data privacy, labour ethics and the potential to receive low-quality products. 

If you are going to shop with Temu, perhaps start with buying just a few small items, see how that experience goes and then commit to bigger orders.

That way, you don't have much to lose (other than a few bucks and maybe your personal data!)

Originally published as What is Temu? Everything you need to know before you buy from the shopping app