Survey: Shoppers like Temu’s discounts, but trust Amazon
A new survey reveals the different aspects that consumers appreciate about Temu and Amazon, as well as possible threats to Temu’s strongest selling point.
On average, consumers can save 40% ($13.37 per product) by shopping at Temu, according to e-commerce marketing company Omnisend, which analyzed data on Temu and Amazon, examining differences in cost and product quality and how often inventory matched between the two. However, new U.S. tariffs on goods imported from China (Temu is based in Boston but has close ties to mainland China and mainly sells Chinese goods) may lead to cost increases for American consumers
In a complementary survey of U.S. consumers fielded last week, 53% of survey respondents shopped on Temu in the last year, with 5% shopping several times per week — yet only 5% say they trust Temu. This is compared to 75% of respondents who have shopped on Amazon. Close to one in five (18%) do so more than once per week, with a significantly higher 87% trusting Amazon.
The study also found that 77% of Amazon products have a similar product on Temu, with every 10th product being identical. However, Omnisend analysis further discovered that many bargains on Temu appear to be product knockoffs, and many product reviews may have been manipulated.
The shipping time for items ordered on Temu is also much longer than those ordered on Amazon or any other U.S.-based e-commerce platform, according to Omnisend.
A Temu spokesperson emailed a statement to Chain Store Age that disputes some of Omnisend's findings.
"As an online marketplace, Temu does not allow counterfeit products and we have strict policies and measures in place to detect, prevent and remove infringing listings," the spokesperson said in the email. "All reviews on Temu come from verified purchases and do not factor into deactivation of a product listing. Negative reviews are retained as long as they align with our review and community guidelines. We encourage honest feedback, both positive and negative, because it helps shoppers make informed decisions and allows sellers to improve their products and services."
Other key findings on Temu and Amazon from the Omnisend study include:
- Temu offers significantly steeper and more frequent discounts than Amazon, with some product categories seeing discounts as high as 98% compared to 67% on Amazon.
- Amazon products average 50,000 reviews per listing compared to 1,500 per listing on Temu.
- Temu's strongest category is fashion & beauty, where it has close matches for 94% of Amazon's listings. The least matched category is food & beverage.
- Automotive is the only category where Amazon beats Temu on price, offering products 12% cheaper on average.
- The consumer survey found that 40% of respondents have shopped on Shein in the last year and 24% have already tried the competing Amazon Haul marketplace for low-cost items.
"Amazon rarely reacts this quickly to competition, but the launch of Amazon Haul proves that Temu and Shein are changing the game," said Greg Zakowicz, senior e-commerce expert at Omnisend. "Temu's ability to offer near-identical products at lower prices is forcing Amazon to rethink its pricing strategy and push harder into the budget-conscious segment."
[READ MORE: How do consumers compare Amazon and Temu?]
Omnisend also surveyed U.S. consumers about their views on tariffs on Chinese imports:
- Forty-two percent of respondents are opposed to new tariffs on Chinese goods (34% are in favor, 24% undecided), and 56% are worried that tariffs will drive up prices on Chinese goods.
- Twenty-nine percent of respondents say that if prices go up on budget-priced online marketplaces like Temu, they would immediately stop buying or buy less. More than 20% said they would still shop budget marketplaces there unless the increase is noticeable.
Omnisend's research examined 23 product categories, analyzing the top 25 best-selling products in each category to ensure representative findings.vKey data points collected included pricing trends, discount rates, number of reviews, and sale status. Research was conducted Dec. 1, 2024 – Jan. 31, 2025.
The survey of 1.023 U.S. consumers was commissioned by Omnisend and conducted by Cint Feb. 11 - 12, 2025.
