It’s rare for a new e-commerce company to have such a meteoric rise as Temu. The company, which launched in the fall of 2022, has flooded the U.S. advertising market, buying much of the inventory of Facebook, Snapchat and beyond. According to market research firm Sensor Tower, Temu is one of the most downloaded iPhone apps in the country, with around 50 million monthly active users.
In today’s show, we go deeper into Tema: how does it work, how did it manage to grow so quickly in the US, and what advice could it offer us about the future of retail? Plus, we’ll talk to an American bike enthusiast representative who is working to close a loophole that has proven very useful for Temu’s rapid rise.
This episode was hosted by Nick Fountain and Alexi Horowitz-Ghazi with reporting by Emily Feng. It was produced by Sam Yellowhorse Kesler and Emma Peaslee. Edited by Keith Romer, fact-checked by Sierra Juarez, and designed by Cena Loffredo. Alex Goldmark is the executive producer of Planet Money.
Help support Planet Money and get extra episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or on plus.npr.org/planetmoney.
Always free at these links: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, the NPR application or anywhere you get podcasts.
Find more Planet Money: Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter.
Music: Universal Production Music – “Warm Welcome”, “Undercover Beshears” and “Get In 2 U”