The Rise of Temu and TikTok Shop

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DOMINATING SHOPPING CARTS: Temu advances against other large ecommerce sites, including Amazon and Shein, in the percentage of downloads made across the United States. In January 2023, Temu reached a 46 percent share of downloads. Information courtesy of Apptopia.

By: Mia Navarro

In the past year, online stores regularly attract new customers, and have recently been drawn to Temu and TikTok Shop. Online shopping is a common way to purchase items, with 76 percent of U.S. adults utilizing it daily according to trends on Cloudwards.net. Whether it is browsing through independent small businesses or corporation-based online marketplaces like Temu and Tiktok Shop, global customers continue to use online shopping because of its convenience and practical functions

E-Commerce refers to the selling and buying of products and services online. Online marketplaces give a platform for big and small businesses to collectively sell their products to a customer base.

From apparel, to house appliances and beauty products, Temu offers anything and everything at tremendously low prices and flash deals of up to 89 percent off a product. Along with this and sellers facing lower competition, Temu has become a considerable competitor against other well-known marketplaces. Compared to Shein, whose prices have been increasing, Temu ensures to keep prices at an all-time low. The company is also known to use a referral system, where users can send a referral link to friends online, and in return, receive cash rewards.

“When you are going to buy something from, let’s say, a recognized brand like Target and you buy a lunchbox. It will be like 20 bucks, and then you go to Temu and it is like two dollars,” said senior Elizabeth Palma. “That is what I think I like about it the most—that you can save a lot of money on the things you want to get. Oftentimes that is because of all of the deals they have going on.”
Alongside Temu, TikTok Shop is another online marketplace that sources their products from China. Tiktok, one of the world’s most popular social media platforms, officially launched their marketplace in Sep. 2023. According to onlinedasher.com, 55 percent of users make a purchase on its store after seeing a brand or product being promoted on TikTok, with consumer spending surpassing $2.5 billion. Most users will stumble across clothing, beauty and skincare products, and even food.

Similar to Temu, TikTok Shop offers extremely low prices and rewards first-time shoppers with a discount. A platform with abundant users, dispersible algorithm and content creators’ contributions to promote its products, TikTok allows for brands to receive more visibility and users to come across personalized product recommendations based on their interactions.

“I follow a plethora of accounts and TikTok has really been able—through all of my interactions on the app—to really narrow down who I am as a person,” said Arizona State University (ASU) senior Sarah Sliman. “I will sometimes get things on TikTok Shop that feel way more accurate to me than I do on Amazon.”

TikTok Shop is a broad marketplace where sellers can work hand-in-hand with content creators, communities and consumers to ensure a personalized and productive shopping experience. However, the platform also faces their own cons, not only limited to just below-average items. As reported by NBC Chicago, experts from the Better Business Bureau (BBB) have spoken out this past October of 2023 about the dangers of coming across potential scams on TikTok Shop, warning consumers all around to shop safely in order to avoid buying flawed products. The BBB’s press release assures users that TikTok does its job to closely examine sellers and products that violate its Terms of Services. Nonetheless, the BBB President and CEO Steve Bernas stated that scammers can work around these policies by selling faulty or fake products, com

monly known as ‘dupes.’

“Consumers should vigilantly follow online shopping safety tips when using TikTok Shop,” said Bernas. “With any new service comes the potential for scams, especially with online shopping, where it could be difficult to verify a seller’s identity or vet their background.”

Temu, just like TikTok Shop, has its concerns as well, which have been recognized by the BBB. As claimed by TIME Magazine, the online marketplace has received 31 complaints and has a BBB customer rating of 1.5 stars or less. This is due to the rising concern of undelivered packages, unknown charges, incorrect orders and unattentive customer service. Regardless of concerns with their shipping and customer services, the BBB has not received complaints of Temu’s goods being counterfeit. Melanie McGovern, director of public relations and social media for the BBB, responded to TIME with her input.

“[Melanie] McGovern at the BBB says it is unusual for such a new company to receive so many complaints in such a short amount of time.” reported TIME. “She notes that Temu has acknowledged and responded to every complaint posted to the BBB website, but many of those complaints remain unresolved.”

Overall, the future seems bright for E-Commerce as millions of people each day make use of online shopping, and will continue to do so each year. According to a survey conducted by the Alvarez & Marsal Consumer and Retail Group, 85 percent of shoppers indicate the continuous use of online shopping post-pandemic. Many prefer to shop with online marketplaces because oftentimes it is an efficient method of shopping and is easier for buyers to find variety in a certain product and compare prices.

“I think [Tiktok Shop and Temu] can make shopping a better experience because seeing users I trust review products helps me buy with more certainty,” added Sliman.