Since starting to sell on Temu, many European small businesses have said they’ve not only expanded their reach internationally, but also increased their production or operational capacity. Many also describe the platform as an important sales channel, and some established companies even credit it with helping them refine their online strategy in general.
While once known as little more than an importer of cheap Chinese products that consumers could buy for pennies on the dollar, Temu is shifting towards being a platform that helps sellers on the platform grow, create new jobs, and expand to other global markets.
Temu Helps Small Businesses Expand Internationally
As cross-border ecommerce continues to grow, around one-third of European small businesses selling on Temu have expanded into new international markets since joining the platform. The result shouldn’t be all that surprising, as Temu matches Amazon in cross-border ecommerce market share, making it one of the largest platforms in that regard.
This data comes from a recent survey by the platform, which gathered responses from over 150 local European sellers from Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, and the UK.
Speaking about how Temu has helped his company expand, Antonino Quaranta, the owner of SD Calabria, an Italian specialty food business, said that. “Now I see Spanish customer names, German surnames, buyers from the Netherlands, Poland, Austria, Ireland, Denmark, and the Czech Republic. Before, I only saw Italian names.”
Selling through Temu has allowed companies like this to reach a much broader customer base, without having to invest a ton of time and money into international marketing and advertising.
Many Respondents Increasing Capacity and Adding Staff
In addition to more companies selling internationally since joining Temu, the survey also found that European businesses report hiring more staff and increasing their capacity. In fact, 50% of survey respondents said they increased operational or production capacity, hired additional staff, or did both, since joining Temu.
As a result, it’s reasonable to assume that the additional sales that these companies have generated since joining Temu have translated into real business success and growth, allowing these companies to hire more help, move into larger facilities, and invest more in their operations.
Despite European sellers only being able to sell on Temu for the past few years, it has quickly become a fan favorite among brands. In fact, 75% of respondents described Temu as either their primary sales channel or an important additional sales channel.
Temu Also Helps Established Businesses Refine Their Online Strategy
In addition to that, the survey also found that Temu has played a huge role in helping already-established businesses refine their online strategy and start taking online sales more seriously.
The results stated that 43% of respondents had been in business for more than 10 years before joining Temu. This challenges the commonly held belief by some that most of the brands selling through Temu are newly-launched brands or marketplace-native sellers.
AMF Creation, a German manufacturer that’s been operating for 15 years, said that the platform’s dedicated seller support, straightforward onboarding, and real-time insights helped them not only refine their online strategy, but also respond quickly to demand and reach new customers.
The Reasons Respondents Chose the Platform
Speaking of things like clear onboarding and strong support, the survey also asked respondents the reason they chose to sell on Temu. The results found that 38% said that Temu’s easy-to-use seller platform was a reason they chose it, and 35% identified Temu’s cost structure as a reason.
Also, 65% of respondents said that they valued the dedicated and personal support available on Temu. With so many businesses from around the globe finding success on Temu, and the platform helping them improve operations, this signals a shift from Temu solely being a discount importer of cheap Chinese products, to a global marketplace option for all types of sellers.
In addition to sellers in Europe taking a liking to Temu, many customers in the region feel the same way. In fact, Europeans are leading the way in terms of Chinese ecommerce platform use.
Our Take
Marketplaces Like Temu Help Brands Expand With Fewer Barriers
When you’re looking to expand your operations internationally, doing so through a marketplace like Temu can reduce some of the barriers companies often run into when looking to sell to international customers.
For example, these platforms include ready-made customer traffic from across the globe, have the proper payment systems built-in, and likely already have the trust of the consumers in the regions they operate and sell.
Expanding through a marketplace also stops brands from having to create localized launch strategies in each market, and lets them immediately access a variety of customers from all over the world as soon as they list their product catalogs.
As a result, if you’re in the process of expanding to new markets, do your homework and see if doing it through an established marketplace makes more sense than doing it independently.
