In This Article:
Budget shopping app provider Temu, owned by multinational e-commerce group PDD Holdings, has started operations in the Philippines to kick off its expansion into Southeast Asia, where it faces tough head-to-head competition against Alibaba Group Holding unit Lazada, ByteDance's TikTok Shop and Singapore-based Shopee.
Temu over the weekend quietly made its "grand opening" in the Philippines, where the Boston-based sibling of Chinese online retailer Pinduoduo offered up to 90 per cent off items such as T-shirts, double-sided tape, and kitchen storage and appliances, according to its website.
The generous discounts form part of a tried-and-tested playbook that has helped Temu climb to the top of Apple's App Store and Google Play's free-app rankings when the online marketplace launched in the United States last year.
Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.
Temu's debut in the Philippines underscores its strategic business expansion across Asia after its foray last month into Japan and South Korea, as it now targets the less wealthier economies in the region.
Temu's budget shopping app is seen on a smartphone screen with the icons of other popular online platforms including Shein, Walmart, eBay, Amazon, Target, Etsy, AliExpress and Lazada. Photo: Shutterstock alt=Temu's budget shopping app is seen on a smartphone screen with the icons of other popular online platforms including Shein, Walmart, eBay, Amazon, Target, Etsy, AliExpress and Lazada. Photo: Shutterstock>
In June, Temu sent out a survey to online merchants asking which platforms they were already using in Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia.
Temu, which is now available in more than 38 countries, did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Monday.
Southeast Asia's e-commerce market, which comprises 11 economies at different stages of development, is projected to reach around US$230 billion in gross merchandise volume by 2026, according to an article published last December by global management consulting firm McKinsey & Co.
Indonesia and Singapore lead the region with an e-commerce penetration rate of about 30 per cent, the McKinsey article said. The Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam trail the market with an e-commerce penetration rate of about 15 per cent.
Lazada, for example, recorded double-digit order growth year on year in Southeast Asia during the quarter ended June 30 on the back of improved monetisation and operating efficiency, according to Alibaba's earnings report for the period. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.