Temu
It has a bit of everything, but for insanely low prices and so many pop ups you want to puke. It resembles a slot machine with its bright lights and constantly moving tiles. It even resembles old Facebook with its farm games and constant nagging to invite your friends to the app. It has a lot to hate on, but it also gives you access to extremely affordable albeit questionable quality goods. When used correctly, Temu can be a tool in affordability to fight off rising prices, when used incorrectly it can be a vortex of consumerism.
Growth at all Costs
Temu is spending huge amounts of money to break into the North America market with sponsorships and all sorts of ads. They even had a Super Bowl ad. If you haven’t seen a Temu ad it would be impressive. With their launch they came into the market with impressively low prices, with rumors that Temu loses money on each purchase, which is not completely unheard of. It can be referred to as the Growth at all Costs strategy that many tech companies participate with the expectation that long-term gains and market dominance will eventually lead to profitability. Rideshare, food delivery, electric sharing scooters and even Amazon uses/used this strategy. Which means investors are subsidizing the cheap goods on Temu so capitalize while you can since Temu will most likely be slowly raising their prices to become profitable after they hit their desired market share.
The Bad
Temu is Chinese owned which comes along with privacy issues similar to TikTok. China is also historical known for bad labor standards along with slave labor and genocide of the Muslim Uyghurs. Even though much of everything is made in China, China has a poor reputation with quality and it's no different with Temu. Temu products are far from premium depending more or less based on what you are buying.
The Good
Extremely low prices shipped directly to your house with a very generous return policy. Temu literally means Team Up, Price Down which goes to show just how committed they are to low prices. They put Walmart to shame. They are connected with millions of suppliers, manufacturers and brands allowing them to have massive selections of products. I was looking at a dog leash at the dollar store then bought one from Temu. Not only was the Temu leash cheaper, it was better quality. Temu's products typically cost half as much as similar local products when compared in terms of price. This can be huge for fighting off inflation as it gives everyone an option to afford goods, shipped right to their door. Not everyone has a No Frills grocery store or dollar store close by and even if they do, Temu still beats their pricing. Even if their quality is questionable, there are many products whose quality is of low importance. Swimwear, lingerie, and fast fashion items can wear out quickly with no consequence since they are replaced so often already. Temu sells knock off products which in most cases are just as good. For example I bought Temu’s knock off Lego, which sure it's not compatible with real Lego but I just wanted something to build and then display on my wall which the Temu Lego did perfectly for a third of the cost of real Lego.
Here is a link to “Lego” Temu Sells
👉 item link: https://temu.to/m/um9na7quww1
Consumerism
This isn’t necessarily Temu's fault, but since their prices are so inexpensive consumers tend not to worry about whether the item is of good quality. They tend to buy more and tend to treat these items with less care since if they break it was only a few dollars. Individuals with addictive shopping habits can get their high of getting a great deal or just spending money without breaking the bank. Temu knows this and leans into the gamification which is unfortunate since it's preying on vulnerable people, but it is a business that wants to sell stuff, so it makes sense.
All this consumerism is terrible for the planet. The poor quality means items last a few days instead of years meaning more in landfills as one would need to replace items more often. The affordability means that more items will be purchased leading to more shipments and more pollution as shipping contributes to climate change. Temu's easy return policy adds even more shipments and pollution as it is with many online platforms, consumers tend to over purchase on purpose with the direct intent to return everything they don’t want. This is especially the case with online clothing companies which Temu does sell clothes (I bought a sweater, I love it).
Retail Therapy
Retail therapy goes right along with consumerism. Spending money is fun and can be exciting. It can even be exciting just thinking about purchases. The anticipation of making a purchase or the thought of owning something new can release dopamine. This is why shopping can feel exciting and enjoyable even before the actual purchase is made or by even adding items into your cart. This can be addicting though which can lead to debt and interest charges which becomes a vicious cycle. Temu is fantastic for retail therapy, or bad depending on how you look at it. You can get your rush of dopamine while only spending a few dollars, plus since it ships to you there is built up anticipation waiting for the product to arrive lengthening the enjoyment. Obviously this can become addicting which can be bad.
Return Policies
Free returns should be made illegal. Nothing is free and those “free returns” have been baked into the costs which get passed on to the rest of the consumers. Free returns contribute to overspending and less commitment which in turn equals more wasted shipments to and from customers. Not to mention that many returns never actually get used again and can get sent to a landfill since it's cheaper to make news than it is to repackage a used one. If every return even cost $5, people would think twice about doing a return saving the carbon footprint and saving the landfill.
Social Responsibility
So, should we really be supporting such a horrible company even if it has extremely low prices, probably not, but it's not up to us to fix the horrors of the world. It's the government’s responsibility. We don’t have time to research the complete supply chain of every product we come in contact with. And before you think of getting on your high horse, thinking we should boycott every company that does anything remotely immoral, think of your iPhone with its nets to catch workers jumping off buildings. Child workers mining for precious minerals and planned obsolescence of its devices. Yes we vote with for dollar but it should be governments that hold businesses accountable, to keep food safe, products safe and supply chains free from death and child labour. Well, Ideally. Temu and other companies should be cracked down on, but in the meantime if I want to buy something but I find a more affordable version of it on Temu, I am going to buy from Temu.
Temu is a great option for affordable goods if you can stand the flashy interface, and questionable business practices. Just don’t get sucked into buying for the sake of buying. It can be a welcome option in our ever increasingly expensive world. Check it out, but be mindful of your spending habits and make sure you’re purchasing what you truly want or need.
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If you found this helpful and would like help budgeting or investing please email me at taylormckeecoaching@gmail.com
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