Temu is an

online marketplace An online marketplace (or online e-commerce marketplace) is a type of e-commerce website where product or service information is provided by multiple third parties. Online marketplaces are the primary type of multichannel ecommerce and can be a way ...

. It is a U.S. based subsidiary of PDD Holdings, which owns

Pinduoduo Pinduoduo Inc. (; Pinyin: Pīn duōduō) is a subsidiary of PDD Holdings. It leverages technology to promote and enable the traditional agriculture industry. It has created a platform that connects farmers with consumers directly. In 2021, 16 ...

, a popular social commerce platform in China. Temu was launched in September 2022 in the United States.

History and business model

Owned and operated by PDD Holdings Inc based in Shanghai at the Shanghai Arch, Jin Hongqiao International Center. Through a

shell company A shell corporation is a company or corporation that exists only on paper and has no office and no employees, but may have a bank account or may hold passive investments or be the registered owner of assets, such as intellectual property, or s ...

WhaleCo Inc. Temu is labeled as headquartered in Boston. The platform first went live in the United States in September 2022. According to ''

Wired ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fra ...

'', "Temu’s bargain prices are an experiment in cutting out the middleman, by allowing Chinese vendors to sell their products directly to US consumers, and shipping directly from China rather than building out a network of US warehouses." A

TechCrunch TechCrunch is an American online newspaper focusing on high tech and startup companies. It was founded in June 2005 by Archimedes Ventures, led by partners Michael Arrington and Keith Teare. In 2010, AOL acquired the company for approximately ...

story reported that Temu was the most frequently downloaded app in the United States from September 2022 to early January 2023. The growth was fueled by extensive online advertising, with over 8,900 ads on various

Meta Platforms Meta Platforms, Inc., (file no. 3835815) trade name, doing business as Meta and formerly named Facebook, Inc., and TheFacebook, Inc., is an American multinational technology conglomerate based in Menlo Park, California. The company owns Facebo ...

websites, which include

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

and

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

. Online reviews indicated significant customer dissatisfaction, including "scammy listings, damaged and delayed deliveries, incorrect orders and lack of customer service".

References

American companies established in 2022 Online marketplaces of the United States {{US-retail-company-stub

History and business model

See also

References