Temu Rewrites Big Game Playbook With $10 Million Giveaway & “Shop Like a Billionaire” Commercial

Temu is rewriting the e-commerce playbook one play at a time with a ground-breaking $10 million Big Game giveaway to accompany its surprise “Shop Like A Billionaire” commercial at the football championship final. 

Boston-based Temu, known for its wide range of quality merchandise at affordable prices,  has introduced a novel concept in its latest marketing strategy with the “Shake & Cheer” sweepstakes. From Feb. 9 to Feb. 15, the online shopping app is inviting users to participate and stand a chance to win a grand total of $10 million in cash prizes, Apple products, coupon bundles, and Temu credits, without any purchase requirements.

Temu’s parent organization is PDD Holdings, which has been a Nasdaq listed company with more than US$100 billion market cap since 2018. It has built a global network of suppliers and supply chain capabilities, which Temu gets its support from. 

The sweepstakes is part of Temu’s debut at the Big Game, promoting the platform as a place where consumers can enjoy discovering quality products at affordable prices, and shop like a billionaire without worrying about the budget. As the most-watched television broadcast annually, Temu is capitalizing on the sporting showcase’s popularity to increase its brand awareness.

Behind Temu’s growing popularity

Since its launch in September 2022, Temu has quickly become a top destination for consumers seeking year-round deals. Sensor Tower, a research firm, estimated that the app has amassed 19 million lifetime installations from major US app stores, making it the No. 1 free app in daily downloads on both the Google Play and iOS App Store. The app’s rapid ascent in the rankings is a testament to its growing popularity and a reflection of consumers’ increasing desire for convenient and cost-effective shopping experiences.

This early success can be attributed to the financial backing and supply-chain expertise of its parent, PDD Holdings Inc., the Nasdaq-listed multinational commerce group behind one of the most successful social commerce platforms, Pinduoduo. Temu has tapped on PDD’s network of over 11 million merchants and shipping partners to source high-quality merchandise at competitive prices for its customers. 

Temu’s debut also proved to be well-timed. Consumers grappling with rising costs of living appreciated a newcomer that offered year-round deals on everyday items to help them live well with less. Consumers were also receptive to Temu’s more interactive discovery-based e-commerce, which offered a change from search-based shopping that has remained largely unchanged for three decades.

Temu’s innovations in e-commerce

Temu’s willingness to innovate has set it apart. For instance, Temu was the first e-commerce platform to give a detailed day-by-day breakdown of when consumers received their packages, providing an unprecedented amount of transparency in logistics fulfillment. Temu was also the first e-commerce site to offer credits to consumers if their deliveries were later than estimated, and maintained a generous 90-day window for shoppers to return eligible items at a time when retailers were tightening their policies. 

With the Big Game, Temu has broken new ground yet again. Temu is giving away $10 million worth of cash, prizes, and coupons to users in a virtual sweepstake game. To participate, users complete gamified tasks on the Temu app, such as browsing a designated page or sharing the promotion on their social media accounts, to win a complete set of numbers to qualify for the draw. 

In a separate announcement, Temu said it would begin shipping to Canada this month, the latest milestone for the six-month-old company. Judging by the volume of queries from users in Canada about when Temu will begin operations there, the affordable e-commerce platform can expect a similarly warm reception.

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