Temu is ramping up its discounts in the U.S. to win back customers after losing ground over tariffs. The platform slashed at least two dozen of its best-selling products by 18% on average compared to prices in late April, with some discounts as high as 60%.
Following President Trump's ban of the de minimis tariff exemption for Chinese goods in May (and subsequently for all countries in August), Temu largely pulled back from the U.S. market and shifted advertising efforts to Europe. Temu took steps to mitigate tariffs by expanding its U.S. warehouse operations, but inevitably prices rose across the board on its platform.
The big winner? Amazon!
Deutsche Bank analysts gave Amazon a price target hike from $230 to $266 in a July report, writing “Amazon has meaningfully expanded U.S. industry share as Temu has pulled back.”
Bloomberg data showed that Temu's U.S. sales dropped more than 30% during some weeks in June and continued to fall by more than 10% in July and August.
However Temu isn't ready to call it quits on its mission to let American consumers “shop like a billionaire.” With Q4 quickly approaching, the company hopes it can discount its way back into your shopping cart this holiday season.
Are you still shopping on Temu as much since the de minimis loophole ended? If not, can Temu win you back with this strategy? Hit reply and let me know.
