Temu

Submission 4,355

About

Temu is an e-commerce, "fast fashion" app owned by PDD Holdings that largely ships goods from China. Like the similar and rival e-commerce apps Shein and Wish, the app developed a reputation in its first year of operation for selling cheap, low-quality goods, leading to dissatisfied customers and some accusations that the business is a scam. Temu has also increasingly become the subject of memes and jokes online in the 2020s.

History

Temu launched in July 2022 and went live in the United States in September 2022.^[1] The company allows Chinese vendors to sell directly to U.S. customers without an intermediate vendor, allowing prices to remain low.^[3]

The app quickly drew comparisons to Shein, and the two companies were entangled in legal battles through much of 2023. These included: Shein accusing Temu of hiring online influencers to disparage Shein products;^[2] Temu accusing Shein of engaging "in a campaign of threats, intimidation, false assertions of infringement, and attempts to impose baseless punitive fines" on clothing companies working with Temu; Shein suing Temu for copying its listings; Temu filing an anti-trust lawsuit against Shein; Temu suing Shein for interfering with its suppliers.

Temu has also been subject to scrutiny for the way it handles consumer data. For a time, it was suspended from Google Play after another site held by PDD Holdings, Pinduoduo, was found to have malware.^[4]

Working conditions at Temu have been harshly scrutinized, as there have been reports that employees there have been overworked and underpaid. At least one death at the PDD headquarters in Shanghai, China is suspected of being connected to the poor working conditions at PDD.^[8]

Reputation

Temu has been the subject of complaints from social media users for selling low-quality goods, having poor customer service, not delivering packages and charging users mysterious fees.^[5] On Reddit, TikTokers have complained about scam-like ads promoting Temu,^[6]^[7] with ads promoting "leaked pictures of female celebrities" to new customers.

On September 22nd, 2023, TikToker Carterpcs covered the government investigation into Temu, accusing their actual business model of being to lure customers onto the app with promises of cheap deals and then selling their data. The TikTok gained over 270,000 likes in five months (shown below, left). On the 21st, TikToker beowulftiktok also voiced concern about the look into Temu's collection of user data, gaining over 1.4 million likes in the same time period (shown below, right).

Taser From Temu

Taser From Temu, also known as $10 Taser From Temu, refers to a series of POV memes mocking a self-defense taser from Temu, an online marketplace known for its low prices and bizarre array of products. Jokes about the company's taser surfaced on TikTok in August 2023, moving to other social media like Twitter / X around October of that same year.

On August 12th, 2023, TikTok user @weluv.damieen uploaded a POV meme with the text overlay "POV: you're tryna steal a PS5 from a old lady but she tases you with her $10 taser from Temu." In the video (shown below), the man is pretending to be tased with the cheap taser after stealing the console from the old woman, which amassed over 15 million plays and 2.9 million likes in three months.

2024 Super Bowl Ads

On February 11th, 2024, an ad for Temu aired multiple times during Super Bowl LVII, garnering attention online shortly after (shown below).

The frequency of the ads led to jokes and discourse on social media, as many wondered how Temu could afford so many pricey Super Bowl ad spots.^[9] That day, Twitter / X user @zoenone0none^[10] tweeted that the company's ability to purchase Super Bowl ads suggested they were likely committing labor violations, gaining over 1,800 retweets and 7,400 likes in one day (shown below, left).

Also on February 11th, Twitter user @celebrityhottub^[11] joked the ad looked like it was for a cheap iPhone game, gaining over 220 retweets and 3,100 likes in the same timeframe (shown below, right).