Due to doubts about product quality, Temu finds it difficult to dominate the market despite 'crashing' prices

Although cheap products can attract attention, experts say that to convince customers, Temu needs time to prove the quality of its products and services.

Temu is a cross-border e-commerce platform that is "causing a fever" in Vietnam with a strategy that directly targets customers who love cheap prices. This e-commerce platform also launched an affiliate marketing program with attractive commission rates to encourage users to participate and earn extra income.

According to Mr. Pham Bao Trung - Metric Customer Growth Solution Consultant (E-commerce Data Platform of Data Science Joint Stock Company), Temu's entry into Vietnam has quickly attracted consumers thanks to its diverse product offerings at very low prices, including electronics, home appliances, fashion , and many other fields. Temu's promotional strategies are very strong, with deep discounts of up to 90% and free shipping support.

Temu has an e-commerce website and Vietnamese language application but has not registered with the Ministry of Industry and Trade (Photo: Fortune)

However, consumers are increasingly experienced in online shopping, and in addition to price, product quality is always their top priority. According to Mr. Pham Bao Trung, cheap goods from e-commerce platforms can attract attention, but to convince buyers, Temu still needs time to prove product quality.

In the early stages, there will certainly be a lot of hesitation from consumers when experiencing this new platform, especially when Temu does not support direct payment (COD) - a factor that helps customers feel more secure when shopping online.

Mr. Pham Bao Trung emphasized that in the future, if Temu is officially licensed, the current "map" of e-commerce platforms will certainly be re-divided. Temu has "swept" many countries around the world and Vietnam - a country with rapid development in e-commerce is no exception. However, how Temu competes with popular platforms today such as Shopee, Lazada, Tiktok Shop still needs more time to answer.

Also related to the quality of goods, according to the records from the social network listening platform SocialHeat, belonging to YouNet Media Company, many consumers have experienced posting frank comments that the prices on Temu are not cheap, even higher than Shopee (accounting for 11% of the discussion). Some typical comments are: "Looking at the price, it is not cheap" "Too expensive but calling it cheap, Shopee is still the cheapest", "Buying it is 10 times more expensive than Shopee"... At the same time, the quality of products sold on Temu is also doubted by many users (accounting for 5% of the discussion).

Judging from the current feedback, Temu is facing many challenges in gaining the trust of Vietnamese consumers. While many users are excited about the opportunities offered by the affiliate marketing program, the majority of feedback still questions the transparency and quality of products on the platform.

Many experts also predict that Temu will find it difficult to gain a good market share from e-commerce giants such as Shopee, Lazada or TikTok.

In addition to the above issues, YouNet Media representative also said that Temu needs to pay close attention to regulations related to taxes, anti-counterfeiting and banned goods. At the same time, cooperating with state agencies to ensure transparency in transactions and protect consumer rights will also help Temu build a trustworthy image in the Vietnamese market.

According to Metric's recent Q3/2024 online retail market overview report and Q4/2024 forecast, the low-cost segment under VND200,000 still accounts for more than half of the total market sales, up 9% over the same period in 2023. It can be seen that consumers are still concerned about product prices when shopping on e-commerce platforms. Therefore, the wave of low-cost goods will certainly bring increasing competitive pressure to Vietnamese retailers.

Source: https://congthuong.vn/bi-nghi-ngo-chat-luong-san-pham-temu-kho-chiem-linh-thi-truong-du-ha-gia-sap-san-356032.html