U.S. consumers prefer online marketplaces over retailers’ websites, Temu online shopping survey finds
Shoppers want to be able to find a wide variety of products in one place, findings from a Temu online shopping survey show.
The results, which Temu released this week, are based on a survey it commissioned from Propeller Insights of more than 1,000 U.S. adults, aged 18 to 65. Propeller Insights conducted the survey in December 2023. This is the first survey Temu has released looking at the U.S. market.
Temu is owned by Pinduoduo which operates an app-only marketplace for Chinese consumers.
Consistent with findings from several Digital Commerce 360 consumer-insight surveys, Temu found that price is the top factor for nearly two-thirds of respondents (63.9%).
After price, product quality and delivery speed were the most important factors influencing consumers’ purchasing decisions, the data showed. Lower on the priority list were the brand’s reputation, online security and sustainability efforts, the spokesperson said.
78.4% of respondents said they compare prices online before purchasing products. Nearly three-quarters (73%) said they believe they get better deals online than in physical stores, and they prefer to shop online.
Online marketplaces, which sell a vast range of products, are now more popular than individual retail brand websites, Temu said in a report.
During the 2023 holiday season, just over a quarter (25.7%) of surveyed consumers shopped at online marketplaces. In comparison, a fifth (20%) shopped directly on retailers’ websites.
More than three-quarters of respondents (75.2%) said they are savvy enough to know which websites are safe and trustworthy to buy from. Nearly three-quarters (73.3%) said they read customer reviews to help determine if an ecommerce site is trustworthy, according to the Temu online shopping survey.
Social media also has an important impact on consumer selection of online shopping sites, Temu said in the report. It added that “every age demographic learned about Temu primarily through social media.”
When it comes to spending behavior, consumers make purchases out of personal interest rather than being influenced by what they see on social media, the Temu spokesperson said.
53.4% of respondents report not being influenced to buy something based on seeing someone else own it, the spokesperson said. And 53.9% will still make a purchase even if their peers advise them against it, the spokesperson added.
Temu researchers didn’t obtain any data on which social media platforms are most popular for online shopping, but they did find out which online shopping platforms were most popular. Some of the top platforms that U.S. consumers preferred included Amazon, Target, and eBay.”