Most US consumers have probably heard of the newest shopping app to hit the market, especially as it was crowned the fastest-growing shopping platform in 2022. Temu is the rival to Amazon, Shein, and Wish, and operates on an international scale (according to their website). Buyers flooded the app over the holidays, especially as the site offered irresistible deals just in time for Christmas Day!
In terms of online shopping, we typically stick to Amazon since it’s a familiar site, but Temu’s deals and promos were just too good not to buy. Here’s our experience shopping on Temu, and our verdict whether the site is legit or not:
Visuals
Opening the site, you are immediately bombarded with whatever campaign the site is pushing at the time. The website visuals can be a bit overwhelming, but the site is still fairly easy to navigate. One of the pros of having a number of products right on its homepage is that it’s easy to browse through the different items offered by the platform, especially as Temu offers more than 100 categories in total.
The app is just as messy, with recommended items and promos flooding the front page. Because of the limited space on the phone screen, the app is a bit more challenging to navigate since not all widgets fit in the screen, but it wasn’t too difficult to browse through the products. Overall, visuals are just alright, and the site is relatively simple to go through.
Products
There are thousands of products in Temu, all reasonably priced for the quality of goods the site sells. While not all products are winners, most are made in the same manufacturing facilities as products sold in Amazon, but priced lower as Temu has a direct connection to its suppliers.
Because of its large catalog, Temu offers niche products too, like gardening goods, pet supplies, and hobby items. It can certainly be convenient to shop for clothes, and check out niche products at the same time without having to order from a separate store, so that’s a big plus for Temu.
Buying Process
The buying process was incredibly easy and you could end up checking out more items than intended! There are items that you can immediately add to your shopping cart without having to open the listing on a different page, and Temu offers style guides for clothes that link you back to the pieces worn by the model.
The buying process was essentially a two-click operation: one to add the product to your cart, and another to check out. Browsing through products was convenient since the site recommends relevant items to you, and the search bar made it easy to find exact items.
Payment Process
Because the site is so new, you wouldn’t expect them to have a ton of payment options, but they do. Apart from the usual credit cards, bank deposits, ApplePay and PayPal, Temu gets plus points for having payment options with AfterPay, Klarna, and more.
Checkout was secure too. Users are taken to a secure payment gateway, and paying for the items is a breeze afterwards. Prices are affordable too, and Temu provides discount vouchers, free shipping vouchers, and other promos in addition to their deals, so you can shop for more with less.
Shipping and Delivery
Shipping, however, took a while. An extended shipping period is expected from sites like Temu as the platform has its warehouses overseas. Delivery took around a week and a half, and the site does inform all customers that delivery can take anywhere from 2-3 weeks on average, so while delivery takes long, the site does manage expectations regarding shipping.
Convenience
Overall, Temu is a pretty reliable site for online shopping. In terms of convenience, the platform also has an app that is great for online shopping in a pinch, but its long shipping time can be a bit of a challenge if you’re the type of person who values instant gratification. Else, if you are more driven by price, and don’t mind the wait time, then Temu offers a wide variety of products, and is simple enough to purchase from.
