Are you a Temu victim? If you've recently spent more than you'd like to admit on fun, quirky—and probably not durable—household items, like funky wall art or unusual kitchen gadgets, then you might already be addicted to this viral retailer.
The Chinese-owned e-commerce app is highly popular among boomers and Gen Xers, who can't seem to get enough of the platform's eclectic array of inexpensive items. According to a Bloomberg report, boomers placed twice as many orders as the average Gen Z shopper in 2023.
"I'd heard about Temu on TikTok, with people showing off their hauls and sharing promotional codes," said Lucy Clark, who first logged in to the billion-dollar platform in 2023.
"I wasn't searching for anything in particular."
Image credits: Justin Sullivan
While Gen Zers may not be Temu's most popular clientele, they still join in on the fun by ridiculing their parents' peculiar and unnecessary purchases online.
In a video captioned "This is a serious problem," Liam Dowling shows the items his mother added to her Temu cart: a stencil for the bathroom door that says "bathroom," an "air fryer cooking" magnet for the fridge with timings in Fahrenheit—Liam lives in Australia and uses Celsius—and a multicolored light for the TV.
"I don't know what to do, but she's addicted," the young man said.
"This is a serious problem," Liam Dowling said of his mother's Temu purchases
Image credits: liam_dowling
But that's not all. In a second video, Liam showcased even more quirky objects his mom felt she needed in her life.
The list included a pair of kitchen mats—"mom won't let me get rid of them 'cause they're apparently comfy"—a clean/dirty label for the dishwasher—"as if you don't just open it and check it"—and a Bluetooth speaker by a brand named T&G.
Liam's mom bought a pair of kitchen mats, a clean/dirty label for the dishwasher and a Bluetooth speaker by a brand named T&G
Similarly, Niya Condria was quite shocked when she entered her bathroom and discovered a new addition to her house: pink-and-white shower curtains with a massive pair of eyes that say "Hello gorgeous."
"My mom da Temu warlock what is this," she wrote. The eccentric print also extended to her room, where she saw that her new curtains, pillowcases, and bedsheets also featured the pair of eyes with incredibly long eyelashes.
Image credits: morekyliebress
Perhaps Niya got luckier than Kylie Bress, whose shower curtains and bath mat are now a photo of Stitch and his girlfriend, Angel.
One reason why Temu is so popular is the "gamification" aspect of the app: the practice of implementing gaming-related elements into the e-commerce experience. The platform's spinning roulette wheels with discounts are an example of this marketing strategy.
Image credits: livgrimshaw_x
Additionally, the Chinese retailer takes advantage of our natural fear of missing out on unique items or experiences—"perceived urgency"—with their flash discount deals and countdown timers advertising free deliveries, as per BBC.
"Temu often employs a combination of social proof, scarcity and frequently uses animated elements to capture consumers' attention, more so than Shein and Wish," explains Vilma Todri, an associate professor of Information Systems at Goizueta Business School at Emory University, US.
Image credits: niyacondria
Mark Griffiths, professor of behavioral addiction at Nottingham Trent University, UK, doesn't think shopping at Temu could lead to an addiction in the clinical sense of the word.
However, the retailer's aggressive marketing tactics might prompt people to make unsound financial decisions.
"I don't think people would spend all day, every day on Temu... but like gambling, shopping is a commercial activity, and even if you're not spending great amounts of time, you might be going beyond your disposable income," he says.
Temu has surpassed China's other e-commerce giant, Alibaba. In the first three weeks of 2024, it was downloaded over 31 million times globally, making it more popular than Amazon's marketplace app, according to Statista.
The company's consistent growth is evident in a video that went viral on Reddit on Thursday (May 16). Titled "A regular work day at the Temu warehouse," the footage shows a dozen workers swiftly scanning packages' barcodes while others continuously add hundreds of boxes to the pile.
