Temu

Temu is PDD's cross-border marketplace, built on shipping directly from Chinese suppliers to overseas consumers at very low prices.

The model compresses the supply chain by removing intermediate wholesalers and local retailers, which is how the pricing works. The trade-off is delivery time, which is longer than domestic marketplaces, and quality that varies by supplier.

Its rapid growth came from heavy advertising spend and aggressive first-purchase incentives; whether the pricing holds as those subsidies normalize is the open question for buyers and competitors alike.