What is Temu, France’s most downloaded shopping app?

“Buy like a billionaire” (“buy like a billionaire”, French). This fancy slogan is Temu, the e-commerce website of the PDD Holdings group. Its app has been available in France since April. It is now ranked number one among the most downloaded free apps in the country. It’s enough to overshadow fast fashion juggernaut Shane (No. 3 in the AppStore) and Amazon (No. 6). In the mobile app you can find everything: jewelry, musical instruments, electronics, pet accessories… But above all, fashion at unbeatable prices. Count €1.97 for the cheapest women’s shirt, €2.48 for a dress or even 37 cents for a set of earrings. The principle is a hit. according to Médiamétrie’s latest press release, Temu had 9.5 million users in France alone in June. Numbers that make this company grow wings, offering itself a 30-second commercial during the 2023 SuperBowl for $7 million.

Energy marketing

“I was contacted by a communications company,” explains content creator Lisa, who performed an operation with them. I liked the wide selection of products and the shipping costs which are reasonable. After our cooperation, I bought professional equipment there and I am quite satisfied.” For her part, 40-year-old Leticia appreciates Temu’s “selection of unusual, practical objects and low prices.” It must be said that the application will definitely catch the eye. Just like in a casino, extremely attractive prices rotate and vary as fast as the discount coupons that appear on the screen. Notifications pop up all the time, letting us know that a customer has just purchased an item, or that the jeans we just clicked on will soon be sold out. To further drive consumption, Temu banks on online games that allow you to win vouchers, credits and gifts almost constantly. Limited quantities, urgent messages, potential out-of-stock announcements… Temu’s marketing is aggressive.

Clearly, in an inflationary society, the idea of ​​buying a lot without breaking the bank is on the rise. Especially since Temu doesn’t stop at just “scarcity marketing,” a practice that consists of creating a form of scarcity in a product through several media (hype, pre-orders, limited quantities, etc.). To become even more attractive, the Chinese company uses artificial intelligence and data analysis. “Temu is able to have optimal logistics and use artificial intelligence to guide French consumers to the products that best suit their needs,” Sean Raine, director of the China Marketing Research Group, confided to France 2.

Counterfeiting, working conditions of employees… the first black points

Despite everything, there is a catch, as on Shane, fake clothes and accessories live a happy life there. Thus, the jacket of the Danish brand Ganni was found on Temu in a sleeveless version. The design, the colors and even the logo. everything is copied, for sale at an extremely affordable price. We also come across sweaters from old Zara collections, almost identically reproduced. All with minimal (or downright zero) shipping costs, and most often free shipping.

These giants know that it is difficult for a young brand to deal with procedures

Géraldine Blanche, fashion law specialist and researcher at Sciences Po Paris Law School

“Fake is part of their business model,” Géraldine Blanche, a fashion law expert and researcher at Sciences Po Paris law school, tells us. They don’t need tons of design teams, especially today with artificial intelligence taking care of everything. These giants know that it is difficult for a young brand to deal with procedures. So even if someone decides to sue them and it costs them, it’s still interesting to them. We don’t waste time or money on huge volumes. Even if it means ignoring the working conditions of the workers. A report by the US House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party in June accused Temu of evading sanctions under the US Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. So many weak points that can discourage customers from going further. “I bought two or three times, but stopped because there was a credit card fraud alert on this site,” adds Leticia.

Suspicion of espionage

Another black point is the suspicion of espionage. Information provided by the media CNN: which in April, an investigation revealed that the Pinduoduo group (Temu’s sister company) was able to tamper with Android smartphones and thus “access users’ contacts, calendars, notifications and photo albums without their consent.” In turn, the American analytical company Grizzly Research noted that Temu could “cleverly hide” spyware that poses an urgent security threat. And he clarified. “Calls to external device data and functions that violate user privacy are far more aggressive than any popular consumer shopping app.”

The comments of Monica Grosso, Director of Marketing at EM Lyon Business School, must be qualified. On October 22, the professor explained France Info: that the French and European GDPR legislation “guarantees that Temu’s general terms and conditions are compatible with local legislation”, thus eliminating suspicions of espionage.

In any case, the platform is currently under investigation by the Directorate General of Competition, Consumer and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) for the quality of its products. “As long as people are not bothered by the idea of ​​buying ‘fake’, it will continue.” It is the market of supply and demand. And in this period of inflation, there is a great demand in France,” concludes Géraldine Blanche. The expert’s proposed solution is for everyone to take responsibility, starting with educating themselves.