The day before the de minimis exemption ended, Temu US began to show only “local” products (which fulfill from the US), blocking customers from viewing or purchasing any items that ship directly from China. The abrupt change caused widespread confusion with both the company's suppliers and customers.
The bestsellers on Temu are now mostly furniture and household appliances, replacing the ultracheap smaller consumer goods like toys, beauty products, and apparel that the company was known for.
Temu wrote in an e-mailed statement to Wired:
“Temu has recently transitioned its US operations to a local fulfillment model. This means that all sales in the US are now handled by locally-based sellers, with orders fulfilled from within the country. Despite the operational shift, Temu’s pricing for US consumers remains unchanged.”
The company also abruptly changed its slogan from “Shop like a Billionaire!” to “Shop like a Millionaire!” (LOL, j/k)
Rena Scott, a retired nurse in Virginia, told CNN, “I can’t afford to buy from Temu now, and I already couldn’t afford to buy in this country.”
A Temu seller told Wired, “Things are in chaos right now. Ever since the tariffs kept changing, our business has been heavily affected.”
Temu sellers didn't know!
Many sellers reported being confused that their products were removed from the US store because they weren't notified by Temu ahead of the change. Additionally, Temu allegedly removed a large number of China-based sellers altogether from its platform last week, only to quickly reverse the removal a few days later, adding even more to the confusion, as several sellers thought this was happening again.
Major Chinese e-commerce platforms are stepping up for their sellers:
- Alibaba held a conference to reassure employees and sellers that they would help them take care of customs procedures.
- Alibaba's supermarket chain launched a new channel for firms looking to sell in China.
- JD.com committed to purchase at least $27.4B worth of goods from exporters over the next year and help them sell at home in China.
- PDD (which own Temu) pledged to invest about half that much to help its sellers pivot to local consumers.
- Baidu (China's Google) pledged free advertising services for millions of companies.