Temu Study Finds Price is Paramount Concern
Nearly two-thirds of consumers prefer to shop online and believe they get better deals via the Web than in brick-and-mortar stores, according to a new survey from discount online retailer Temu.
The China-based e-tailer partnered with consumer data company Propeller Insights to survey more than 1,000 American consumers ages 18 to 65-plus about their shopping habits. Of those respondents, 73 percent said they prefer to shop online and believe they pay lower prices via that channel.
More from Sourcing Journal
An even larger number—78.4 percent—said they compare prices online prior to making purchases. And 63.9 percent said price is the deciding factor when choosing to buy an item. Behind price, product quality and delivery speed ranked as most important when making purchase decisions.
“The importance of price point, quality and speed of delivery were ranked higher by U.S. consumers in comparison to a brand’s reputation, online security and sustainability efforts,” said a Temu spokesperson.
Clothing and accessories was the top category of products consumers prefer to buy online, followed by household items and electronics.
Looking specifically at the 2023 holiday season, consumers most often (25.7 percent) shopped online marketplaces such as Temu, Amazon, etc., while 20 percent reported going directly to retailer websites. And while app shopping leads in many other countries, websites were favored by a slim majority in the U.S. at 50.3 percent as opposed to 49.7 percent for apps.
While data breaches, counterfeiting and other scams have plagued some online shoppers, two-thirds of those surveyed said they consider themselves savvy enough to recognize whether a site is safe and trustworthy. And 73.3 percent read reviews to determine if a website is trustworthy enough to shop.
That said, social media plays a major role in influencing which sites consumers choose to shop. The survey found that younger generations such as Gen Z and Millennials are more likely to be influenced by social media on where to shop, but when it comes to making actual purchases, they’re less swayed by TikTok, Instagram and the like.
“An interesting fact—when it comes to spending behavior, consumers make purchases out of personal interest rather than being influenced by what they see on social media,” said a Temu spokesperson. “53.4 percent report not being influenced to buy something that they see someone else owning, and 53.9 percent will still make a purchase even if their peers advise them against it.”
But while social media may not influence spending, it certainly has driven traffic to Temu—the survey found that 62.5 percent of respondents across all age groups discovered Temu primarily through social media. That’s not surprising as the discounter recently ranked third behind H&M and rival (and legal sparring partner) Shein in brands featured in TikTok and YouTube hauls, according to a report from journey advertising platform Illumin. And according to a new study from MediaRadar, Temu’s ad spend increased 1,000 percent year-over-year for the period between January and November 2023, with 76 percent of those ads appearing on social media.
