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Temu online marketplace launches in Australia

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By Published On: April 26, 202319 Comments

Temu, an online marketplace boasting heavily discounted products has officially launched in Australia as part of its global expansion.

Temu, an online marketplace rivalling Shein with its quick factory to consumer turnaround and low prices, has officially launched in Australia

The ecommerce platform is owned and operated by PDD Holdings, which also owns Pinduoduo, a popular social commerce platform in China. Temu is headquartered in Boston in the United States and first went live there in September 2022. The platform had a quick rise to popularity, becoming the number one most frequently downloaded app on Apple’s IOS App Store in mid September and holding its position on the charts right into January. With 19 million lifetime installs across the App Store and Google Play, more than 18 million of which came from the U.S. In January alone, the app saw five million downloads.

Launching thousands of products a day, Temu allows global vendors to sell and shop directly to US customers without having to rely on warehouses in the US. Product pricing often seems too good to be true with items like Lenovo headphones for less than $10 USD, clothing for $0.19 USD, and various homewares and gadgets with miniscule price tags. The site lists items across all retail categories.

Reported by Inside Retail, data analytics from YipitData shows the company reached $500 million USD in GMV in the market during its first five months of operation. PDD Holdings has been listed on the Nasdaq since 2018, with a current market cap of around $120 billion USD.

The platform began its global expansion when it launched into Canada in February, offering a 30 percent discount to new users in the country. Temu integrates gamification into its site with a campaign on social media in which the more you convince others to sign up, the more credit you earn. It has continued the expansion, now operating in six European countries, including France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom. It launched in Australia and New Zealand in March with no official announcement, and is offering free shipping on all orders and free returns within 90 days.

AFR reported earlier this month that the platform has had a six-fold increase in month-on-month hits to its website to about 280,000, while Amazon is getting over 45 million hits a month, and Catch.com gets nearly 8 million. While not presenting a challenge to these retailers hold over Australian consumers just yet, its low price offerings and low cost fulfilment operation could quickly overtake its rivals.

According to Power Retail’s Trajectory Report #64, online marketplaces remain popular among consumers due to convenience, affordability, and good delivery options. As of March 2023, Amazon remains the most popular online marketplace among Australian consumers at 56 percent, followed by eBay AU at 52 percent. Interestingly, Australia-based merchants remain the most popular marketplaces with 73 percent of consumers reporting a preference to shop local, which may slow Temu’s growth here.

The ecommerce landscape is changing. With a Power Retail Switched On membership, you get access to current e-commerce revenue and forecasting, traffic levels, average conversion rate, payment preferences and more! 

About the Author: Rosalea Catterson

Rosalea is the Editor of Power Retail. With a keen interest in consumer behaviour and tech, she covers everything ecommerce and hosts the Power Retail Power Talks Podcast.

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19 Comments

  1. Herman Perera April 27, 2023 at 4:14 PM - Reply

    HOW DO I PURCHASE ITEMS.

  2. BARRY April 29, 2023 at 3:16 PM - Reply

    Let me see where this goes …….

  3. Margo April 30, 2023 at 5:15 PM - Reply

    I made a purchase today and have not had confirmation of order even though it has gone through PayPal. I have tried to log into account and password no recognised when I ask for email reset nothing comes. If I don’t hear from you in the next hour I will be forced to cancel PayPal transaction
    Regards,
    Margo croal

  4. Lesley Gail OATES April 30, 2023 at 8:31 PM - Reply

    Where do I return goods to be exchanged due to incorrect size ordered.

  5. Joanne May 2, 2023 at 4:14 PM - Reply

    What should I do they gave me wrong size of shoes? I need to refund pls

  6. Xia Cheng May 4, 2023 at 12:29 PM - Reply

    Great value for money and free shipping, great!

  7. Sharon poole May 4, 2023 at 1:29 PM - Reply

    very disappointing iv spent close on $300 over 2 weeks i ordered size AU size 8 (38) shoes..
    I got size 43 huge waste of my hard earned money

  8. Donna Rivett May 9, 2023 at 12:28 PM - Reply

    Hi I’m just wondering how I can return and swap a pair of shoes I ordered, I love the shoes but they are the wrong size. Please be in touch as I really would like another pair.
    Regards Donna Rivett.

  9. Geoff White May 14, 2023 at 5:46 PM - Reply

    i ordered 2 rings with my first order the gold coloured one far two small other one didnt come i would like to keep ordering items regulary from you

  10. JULIUS RE May 16, 2023 at 3:45 PM - Reply

    I made a purchase this morning and i can not pay it because you want my code number which i have never had

  11. Brett Sharwood May 17, 2023 at 8:58 PM - Reply

    Well I think the idea and app is great and it could work really well I have no doubt .I also know how I could sell a lot of let’s say one style of items alone and maybe on a grand scale and obviously not for free as a Temu retailer so a wholesale approach.but also a warehouse
    Would be smart with the most popular items stored there for fast refunds exchanges etc taking pressure off the major operators this company could easily become a major supplier here in Australia with a bit of smarts by covering all bases while we climb to full online trading we are not all young and online we still love to go and shop.and to be able to see,feel,try even smell the item that new smell is a huge selling point.I also know how to sell some Temu items with out going into a shopping centre and with out online.all over Australia if not the world.doing the groundwork so to speak making this a fun vibrant brand is key and not going half hearted is paramount with happy and satisfied customers is a repeat customer.it needs to be an overall great experience it need to be warm welcoming visual.this is not online well not 1OO % anyway if Temu wants to get real they need to contact me

  12. Valma Murrell May 23, 2023 at 3:09 PM - Reply

    Transaction ID 97M59005K68661458 ON THE 14TH of May & I received the package I ordered a Cover top and a pair of slip on shoes
    I ordered a XL top in Navy, & the slipon shoes I wanted was size 41
    but they had size 9 (43) I want to know if I can change the top to a Large & the shoes to a size 41.

    Thanking you I will await your return email.
    Valma Murrell.

  13. Kaylee fisher May 25, 2023 at 10:28 AM - Reply

    If you want to contact them. Their is a phone number. 0448275400
    Ring them and see where you get

  14. Bernice May 25, 2023 at 5:48 PM - Reply

    Shut up whinging commenters. Honestly get a grip.

  15. Gerry: May 26, 2023 at 10:32 PM - Reply

    I have been using this Site for around 3 weeks now. I find Temu a fantastic Site. Love the Items I have bought. Best delivery service has become my favorite site, they have everything and Free shipping. The speed of shipping is unbelievable. Nothing at all to whine about. Top class site
    Thank you very much for bringing your expertise to Australia.
    Kind Regards Gerry.

  16. Gerry: May 26, 2023 at 10:35 PM - Reply

    Love your Style Bernice,
    Well Said.

  17. Maryann Tennant June 2, 2023 at 9:49 AM - Reply

    Temu is amazingly cheap with well made items that look expensive 😍 👌

  18. Helen June 11, 2023 at 11:47 AM - Reply

    So many items to choose from. Just extremely annoyed that to order , you have to spend minimum of $15. 😡

  19. Alex November 14, 2023 at 9:55 PM - Reply

    TEMU orders delivered via Australia Posr all came through successfully, but TEMU has started using PFLogistics, a company with a 1.3 out of 5 star rating in Google. Not a single package has been delivered by PFLogistics, and while TEMU has refunded me, this is outrageous. I keep telling TEMU I will pay extra to guarantee delivery via Australia Oost but the support staff say they can’t do it. So that’s it. Delete TEMU and stop using these hopeless at-holes, they insist on using a courier company that CANNOT DELIVER.

    PFLogistics has no phone number. They take more than a day to respond. There is no local depot. If the tracker says the goods are on board for delivery, you can be waiting all day but that doesn’t mean delivery will be attempted on that day.

    PFLogistics are a massive shhhhht show. I’ve complained to the ACCC, not that those useless toothless tigers are going to do anything.

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