LAGOS – Chinese online retailer Temu has become the most downloaded app in Nigeria in just a few weeks on both the Android and Apple app stores since advertisements started promoting its availability in the country.
The rankings from app tracking platform SimilarWeb come after consumers were hit by a social media advertising blitz announcing the company’s entry into the country. Goods on Temu are now available in the local currency, naira, and can be delivered to Nigerian addresses.
Temu’s parent company is the company behind the Chinese online marketplace Pinduoduo. It first launched in the US in 2022 and has built a reputation as a retailer of cheap consumer goods with fast delivery, often drawing comparisons to Chinese fast fashion rival Shein.
After launching in South Africa earlier this year, Nigeria becomes Temu’s second bet in Africa.
Temu was the top advertiser on Meta last year by reportedly spending nearly $2 billion on ads. In the US, the blitz has created a scramble for shoppers’ dollars as it drives up advertising costs and diverts attention from legacy players like Etsy.
Competition in Nigerian e-commerce takes place between smaller stores selling specific products and African providers such as Jumia. A leaner operating model focused on achieving profitability has seen Jumia reduce ad spend over the past two years.
The tenor of reactions to Temu’s entry in Nigeria from industry analysts and consumers is a mix of admiration and fear. The retailer’s rise to the top of the download charts signals a successful launch strategy, but there are fears its operations will exhaust local markets.
What could make Temu a seismic player for Nigerian e-commerce, beyond advertising, is the control it has over the value chain, analysts say. Unlike many online retailers that act as a middleman between manufacturers and consumers, Temu can ship directly from factories in China. It gives the company wide latitude to deliver a wide variety of products at potentially lower prices.
And in emerging markets where price sensitivity means consumers have little brand loyalty, Temu will actually be favored over other retailers.
Combined with gamified shopping that delivers an engaging user experience, the company’s presence could be “very, very dangerous, not only for Africa’s homegrown e-commerce platforms, but also for the fledgling fashion and design sector,” says Marie Lora-Mungai, an analyst. covering the African creative industries.
There have indeed been some shifts in African e-commerce since Temu’s arrival on the continent.
Nigeria and South Africa could allay their local markets’ concerns about the activities of global offshore online retailers by demanding concessions, Lora-Mugai said. “More specifically, I would force the platform to build factories and train workers locally.”
But some observers say only extreme measures such as a ban can preserve local capacity. The takeover of e-commerce by foreign companies would be akin to Netflix and YouTube being favored over local film distribution platforms, says Oris Aigbokhaevbolo, a Nigerian film journalist and online publisher.
“Across the fields we have a new anthem: if it comes from Nigeria and a rival from abroad shows up, they will win. But you can’t really build a country’s economy this way,” he said.
Takealot, Naspers’ company and South Africa’s largest online store, sold its fashion store Superbalist in September. In October, Jumia closed Zando, a fashion retailer that a few months earlier specifically named Temu and Shein as one of the companies it hoped to offer as a “reliable alternative” to African consumers looking to shop internationally.
When Takealot reported its financial results earlier this year, it accused Temu and Shein of exploiting loopholes “by using shipping methods that allow them to offer products at exceptionally low prices while avoiding import duties, taxes and other government fees imposed on conventional retailers.”
It warned South African policymakers to update regulations to avoid widening disparities that could harm local businesses. These concerns were echoed by the Institute for Chartered Entrepreneurs, a trade group that claimed the presence of both Chinese companies in South Africa could have “harmful consequences” and hold back efforts to grow local industries.
