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Pinduoduo - cross-border e-commerce platform Temu

  • Public Equity
  • Consumer
  • Greater China

Third Bridge Forum spoke to an industry expert from the Chinese e-commerce sector to discuss Pinduoduo’s cross-border e-commerce platform Temu, its top-selling products and business innovation mechanism. Here are the need-to-know insights from that Interview:

  • The specialist said ByteDance’s Fanno e-commerce platform failed overseas because it relied heavily on external traffic procurement, had high customer acquisition costs and performed poorly in new customer retention and sales conversion. 
  • They added that Fanno first attracted large distribution-oriented merchants based in Shenzhen but lacked competitive product differentiation and couldn’t attract users without providing price subsidies.
  • We heard that Temu first attracted Shein’s supply chain merchants who have their own brands. Click here for more expert insights on Shein.  
  • The specialist said Temu requires merchants to sell channel-exclusive and original products at the absolutely lowest price.
  • In addition to the products sold by the merchants on the platform, Temu procures some products from the merchants and sells them at a loss to attract traffic, we were told.

If Temu can provide more fast fashion products with better quality, it has a good chance to grab some of Shein’s traffic.”

  • In the Interview, we heard that Temu is estimated to have about 19,000 merchants, with an entry approval rate of 10%. The specialist told us it only welcomes merchants with supply chain, product R&D or price advantages. 
  • 60% of Temu’s SKUs are women’s fast fashion products, according to the specialist. They said the remaining 40% are mainly electronics, small home appliances, furniture and pet products. 
  • We heard that Temu sets a price range for each product and merchants bear no entry fee and commission expense but must pay domestic parcel delivery fees.
  • The specialist said Temu has warehouses in Guangzhou. After users place orders, Temu packs the products and ships them collectively to the US by air to improve transport efficiency and reduce the risk of missing parcels, according to the specialist. 
  • We were told that air freight rate fees are RMB 20-40/kg and the average shipping cycle is nine days. The specialist believes this is better than the direct shipping model.

For more human insights on Chinese e-commerce platforms, click on the transcripts below.

Related Transcripts

The information used in compiling this document has been obtained by Third Bridge from experts participating in Forum Interviews. Third Bridge does not warrant the accuracy of the information and has not independently verified it. It should not be regarded as a trade recommendation or form the basis of any investment decision.

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