Chinese eCommerce company Temu is now the most popular app in Nigeria’s Google Play Store and Apple App Store. The app is now the most downloaded in recent days garnering over 500 million downloads on the Andriod store.
According to Similar Web, OPay is currently the second most popular app in Nigeria, Crypto Mayors is third, while WhatsApp is third. On the Apple App Store, Temu retains its number one position while second place went to a social networking app called Bammby, and OPay is third.
Temu’s rapid rise in popularity in these stores comes as no surprise as many Nigerians have been inundated with ads from Chinese eCommerce platform.
The company reportedly spent $1.3 billion on Meta ads. Its ad spend jumped 1,000% year-over-year for the period from January to November 2023. Within this period, 76% of Temu’s ad spend went to social media, while 13% went to other forms of ads.
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The company has also gotten numerous ad spots on Super Bowl which cost $7 million for a 30-second ad. It did this two years in a row giving away $15 million in coupons in the process.
Launched in 2022, Temu is owned by PDD Holdings, the parent company of the Chinese eCommerce giant, Pinduoduo. PDD Holdings, founded by former Google employee Colin Huang, built its reputation on offering low-cost products shipped directly from suppliers.
Temu’s appeal is its low-priced products, which gives it a competitive advantage in most markets, but especially in Nigeria where inflation and a generally worsening economy have eroded people’s purchasing power.
Per this Techpoint Africa article, Nigeria is a key African market for Temu as it has one of the highest populations of tech-savvy youth thanks to affordable Chinese smartphones.
Also, Nigeria’s eCommerce market which was valued at $12 billion in 2019, is projected to reach $75 billion by 2025. Furthermore, digital payment systems, which have seen increased adoption, are facilitating this growth by making online transactions more secure and accessible.
Temu’s aggressive charge has allowed it to enter 80 markets in a short period. Its entrance into the Nigerian market means stiff competition for players like Jumia, who is already dialling back marketing spend to increase its profit margin. But while a Temu victory might seem assured in Nigeria, the company’s quality of service is something that has come int o question a number of times.