temu
Temu is an online marketplace operated by e-commerce company PDD Holdings, which is owned by Colin Huang. It offers heavily discounted consumer goods, mostly shipped to consumers directly from China. By April 2025, the platform had expanded its operations to more than 90 markets.
Temu's rapid growth has been accompanied by significant controversy. A 2023 report by the U.S. House Select Committee on Strategic Competition found an "extremely high risk" of forced labor in the company's supply chains and accused it of exploiting the U.S. de minimis trade loophole to evade customs enforcement. The platform has faced multiple class action lawsuits over data privacy practices, investigations by South Korean and European regulators over toxic substances in products and breaches of the Digital Services Act, and criticism from consumer groups over product quality and safety. In the UK, the Advertising Standards Authority banned several Temu ads for sexualizing a child and objectifying women. The company has also been involved in an ongoing legal dispute with rival Shein over copyright infringement and antitrust allegations, with a UK trial expected in late 2026.
In March 2024, Temu launched its Local Seller Program in the United States. As of July 2025, the program was operational in the UK, France, Italy, Japan, Mexico, and Australia, among other countries. The program is designed to avoid tariffs in USA and other countries.
Temu's business model has allowed it to become popular among consumers, but has also drawn concerns over data privacy, forced labor, intellectual property, and the low quality of its marketplace products. The company has been embroiled in legal disputes with Shein, a direct competitor. The rise of Temu is one of Amazon's biggest challenges in years.
On October 17, 2022, Temu emerged as the most-downloaded U.S. shopping app. According to Sensor Tower, it was the most downloaded mobile app in any category in the U.S. between November 1 and December 14, 2022. According to Similarweb, as of September of 2024, it became the second most-visited online shopping site in the world. As of December of the same year, the number of monthly active users of Temu's global smartphone app surpassed that of Amazon. In the year of 2024, it was the most downloaded iPhone app in over 20 countries.
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