Have you heard of Temu? If not, there’s a good chance you’ll be hearing a lot about it in the year to come. It’s the American subsidiary of Pinduoduo, a Chinese social commerce company that offers cut-to-the-bone prices for fashion, cosmetics, electronics, and more.
Since its launch in September 2022, Temu has established itself as a dominant presence in the global app market. Especially in the United States, where the app currently ranks first among all iOS and Android apps.
So, with this in mind, we dug into the details. We analyzed Temu’s performance on Google Play and the Apple App Store, focusing on downloads, top chart rankings, and monthly active users (MAU).
Here’s what we found (click the links to jump to the relevant sections):
- Temu Is Nearing 25 Million U.S. Downloads
- Temu Is the Top Ranked App in the United States
- The Android Version of Temu Has 450,000+ Monthly Active Users (MAU)
Temu Is Nearing 25 Million U.S. Downloads Just Four Months After Its Release
The chart above depicts daily downloads for the Android (orange) and iOS (blue) versions of Temu since their release in September of 2022.
Already, the two versions of the app have combined for 24,711,000 downloads, with the Android version notching 8,693,360 and the iOS version notching 16,017,640. Those are astonishing numbers for just four months of existence.
Aside from one notable (but short-lived) spike in September, Temu didn’t really take off until mid-October, when it went from roughly 12,000 daily downloads to more than 300,000 over the course of about two weeks. It’s leveled off a bit since then, settling in at just shy of 300,000 daily downloads. Even so, those numbers are nothing to scoff at.
Temu Is the Top Ranked App in the United States
Unsurprisingly, Temu has firmly entrenched itself in the United States’ top charts. The image above shows the app’s Android (orange) and iOS (blue) performance over the last few months. Specifically, these are rankings for the ‘Shopping’ category, where Temu currently has a vice-like hold on the top spot.
However, Temu dominates far more than the shopping category. As noted above, Temu is the top ranked app in the United States, overall! Check it out:
Android
iOS
The Android Version of Temu Has 450,000+ Monthly Active Users (MAU)
Underlying Temu’s success is a flourishing user base. According to our data, the Android version of the app had a whopping 468,824 MAUs in December, up from 408,101 in November, 184,120 in October, and 63,964 in September.
While we don’t yet have the iOS numbers, they’re likely even better. Indeed, American iPhone users have downloaded the app at a rate of nearly 2:1 when compared with Android device holders. In other words, there’s a good chance that, heading into its fifth month of existence, Temu is sitting pretty with well over 1,000,000 mobile MAUs.
Final Thoughts
Temu is off to a hot start, there’s no doubt about that. It’s topping charts all over the world and closing in on 25 million downloads — all in its fifth month of existence!
Still, as with any app, the question is whether this momentum can be sustained. While Temu’s popularity is growing at an impressive clip relative to the rest of the app market, things have begun to taper off in the United States. Downloads have flattened since November, and MAU growth over the last two months is best described as “good-not-great.”
So, while Temu is certainly an interesting new player, you’d be wise to pump the brakes on the TikTok and Amazon comparisons. For now, at least.
