© Temu/Freestocks/Presse-citron
Launched just a year ago, the Temu sales platform has already won over 900 million users worldwide and recorded 61 billion orders.
Record figures that the Chinese company owes mainly to its cheesy prices. On Temu, you can find everything at unbeatable prices. Some are even offered for free against a positive review on social networks.
Temu is also an aggressive communication strategy. The company does not hesitate to break its marketing budget by offering, for example, an advertising spot lasting a few seconds for several million dollars on the evening of the Superbowl, one of the most important sporting events in the United States and in the world. world.
Present everywhere on the web (advertising on the web, social networks, etc.), Temu is a real steamrollerwhich even makes some consumers forget the giant Amazon. But behind this promise of low prices hide important dysfunctions but above all more secret ambitions.
Here are therefore 3 reasons to avoid buying on Temu, even if the small prices are attractive.
The products delivered are of poor quality (or non-compliant)
Do you know the expression “getting value for your money”< /em> ? If the prices displayed on Temu are so attractive, it is firstly because the quality of the products offered leaves something to be desired. This is in any case the conclusion of the Belgian site (and consumer association)TestAchats (equivalent to UFC-Que Choisir in France) which analyzed no less than 28 products including toys for children, cosmetic products or even helmets.
Of these 28 products, none met the quality standards required by the European Union. Apart from poor quality, TestPurchasenoted problems of non-compliance with CE standards, safety defects endangering children (for toys) or even poor general quality of the articles.
Moreover, the multitude of available articles encourages overconsumption and therefore overproduction despite all the environmental and social issues. In the United States, for example, Temu is accused of doing nothing to prevent forced labor.
The customer experience is catastrophic
TestPurchasealso noted other issues related to customer experience. First,Temu lacks transparency regarding the origin of the products sold.Thus, some customers find themselves having to pay customs, import fees and other taxes on the products ordered. Often, the total amount of these additional costs is significantly higher than the price of the product purchased.
On Trustpilot, which compiles user reviews, 36% of reviews have “1 star” (lowest rating).Among the most frequently cited complaints, we find poor product quality and delivery times and quality.
Because being delivered by Temu is also an unusual experience. Many users explain that they took out the oars to find their packages when they found them. Some customers have never seen the color of their order. And Temu only offers a chatbot on its platform to solve these problems. The absence of real after-sales service also raises questions about compliance with European consumer protection rules.
Temu sucks up your data (a lot)
« If it's free, you're the product.” Almost everyone knows this saying which applies perfectly to Temu. If prices are so low, it is because Temu’s objective is not to generate margins. According to TF1, the platform loses on average 30 euros per order, which also poses competition problems, as selling at a loss is prohibited in certain European countries, such as France.
In reality, Temu is above all a huge vacuum cleaner of personal data. Like Facebook (which generates billions of dollars without selling any consumer products or services), the Chinese platform would resell your data to generate turnover.
In this little game, Temu is a champion. To obtain your personal information, she does not hesitate to exchange it clearly for price discounts. Thus, on the platform, questions appear on the screen every two or three minutes, in exchange for reductions or slashed prices. Each of them allows us to obtain information about you.
If Temu worries so much it is because the company is Chinese. In China, the State is closely linked to the activity of private companies, even more so if they are multinationals. For example, members of the PCC took their place on the board of directors of ByteDance, parent company of TikTok.
In the United States, the analysis firm Grizzly Research published a report accusing Temu of using “malicious, spyware and dangerous software” recalls the Belgian media Le Soir. In France, the company is also the subject of an investigation carried out by the DGCCRF (fraud repression). So many accusations which amplify the feeling of distrust towards Temu.