Temu Is the Second Most Visited eCommerce Website in the World

Temu's Site Traffic: Key Insights

• Second Most Visits in the World: Temu is now the number two eCommerce site in terms of global traffic, replacing eBay. Temu is the youngest platform to achieve this status, having launched the site in September 2022.

• Shifting Strategies: While Temu is actively seeking new merchants with logistics operations in the U.S. and Europe, Amazon is shifting its focus to Chinese sellers with direct access to open a new discount segment.

Temu has replaced eBay as the second most visited eCommerce site in the world. Since Temu launched just 2 years ago, in September 2022, this means that Temu is the youngest eCommerce site to reach this status. According to data from Similarweb, temu.com had 684.4 million global visits in August 2024. 

It is important to note that web visits do not equal sales. Therefore, Temu’s status as the second most visited site does not mean that it is the second largest retailer. However, achieving second place in global traffic is no easy feat, as the most popular eCommerce sites for shoppers are not easily surpassed.

Temu’s Development: Rapid Success at a Loss of Profit

Temu has achieved this ranking within just a few years since its launch. Its expansion strategy has been driven by high spending on customer acquisition and deep discounts. Temu reaches its audience through multiple advertising channels, especially social media. Piqued curiosity about the deals drives shoppers to Temu, creating buzz around the site.

PDD Holdings is the parent company of Temu, which also operates Pinduoduo. Pinduoduo and Temu have quite similar site strategies, using social referrals, gamification, and time-sensitive offers to incentivize purchases. Pinduoduo is currently the second largest marketplace worldwide, while Temu’s GMV (gross merchandise volume) is still well below that of its sister company and Amazon:

Not only is amazon.com ahead in terms of GMV (US$375 billion), but the site also has 2.7 billion monthly visits. Temu's strategy was focused on building awareness and driving consumers to shop. Now it is more about becoming profitable and compliant so that the business can continue in the long term. 

As a result, Temu is actively seeking sellers with logistics operations in the U.S. and Europe to facilitate warehousing and transportation, and to stay out of the regulatory debate over tax exemptions for imports from third-country manufacturers. Conversely, Amazon is building its product discount platform with direct access to Chinese manufacturing facilities. While Temu does neither reach Amazon in terms of traffic nor GMV, it does challenge smaller players in the industry.

Sources: Marketplace Pulse – Similarweb