If you have entered any social network today, it is likely that you have seen an advertisement for Temu, the Chinese e-commerce company what is becoming Shein’s biggest competitor in Latin America, a market that it has entered strongly in the last year.
Temu belongs to the PDD Holdings Groupwhich also owns the Chinese trading app PinduoduoIts founder is the magnate Colin Huangwho recently became the richest man in China, according to an index published by the economic information agency Bloomberg. His fortune is valued at USD 48.6 billion.
Huang, who previously worked at Google China, founded Pinduoduo in 2015, which became one of the most famous e-commerce portals in China, competing with Alibaba.
The The international version of Pinduoduo is Temulaunched in 2022 in the United States, with ultra-cheap products produced and shipped from China. After expanded to Europe and Latin America.
Huge discounts
Just like Pinduoduo did in China, the Temu app attracts customers with huge discounts and a wide range of products. Its success has coincided with high global inflation that has driven cost-conscious consumers to seek out deals.
When downloading the application and opening it for the first time, the customer is offered a 90% discount on the purchase of an item. Outside of that welcome promotion, most products are discounted by more than 50%. It even offers “gifts” and “free items.”
The app has a wide range of products in various categories: home, clothesfootwear, sports, jewelry, beauty and health, toys, technologyautomotive, baby and maternity, pets.
Temu justifies his low prices by saying that “by eliminating multiple middlemen and shipping directly from factories to consumers, Customers benefit from wholesale prices from the point of origin,” says the information published in the app.
The growth of e-commerce, with a strong presence of Chinese brands, has also increased the Courier shipments to the country under the service called ‘4×4’through which packages weighing less than or equal to four kilograms and valued at up to USD 400 can be brought in.
According to the National Customs Service of Ecuador (Senae), the value of the shipments that were imported under the ‘4×4’ category was USD 327.7 million in 2023which shows an increase of 39% compared to the amount for 2022. And up to By August 2024, a value of USD 268.93 million has been reached.
How to receive Temu orders in Ecuador?
Consumers in Ecuador can place orders on the app, pay with international cards or methods such as PayPal, and receive them in the country through courier companies.
To make shipments to Ecuador and other destinations, Temu has alliances with logistics companies Crossborderly y Skypostalwhich, in turn, maintain agreements with local couriers, such as Grupo Tramaco, Geomil and Servientregas for final delivery to the client.
Users must Pick up your packages at the offices of these couriersdepending on the city in which they are located. Servientrega and Tramaco also offer home delivery, but not in all cases and delivery may take longer.
According to customer comments on social media, the delivery of the package It usually takes between 20 days and a month. Although delays have been reported in certain cases, users claim that they did not pay any additional shipping costs.
Controversies
Temu’s global success has been accompanied by allegations of unfair trade practices and poor safety standards on products. The app, for its part, claims to have “strict policies against counterfeit or unsafe products.”
This year, consumer groups in Europe accused Temu of manipulating shoppers into spending more money, distorting their ability to make “free and informed decisions.”
And in April 2024, South Korean regulators opened an investigation against the company on suspicion of misleading advertising and unfair practices.
Even in China, hundreds of merchants protested in front of its offices in Guangzhou, alleging unfair treatment in the sale of their products to the platform.
