Temu’s Monthly Shoppers Drop 17.5% As De Minimis Expiration Looms

Omnisend, an ecommerce automation platform, surveyed 1,000 Americans in a consumer confidence survey for a second consecutive year. Conducted before President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, Temu was already showing signs of shopper fatigue. Monthly shoppers dropped from 34.8% to 28.7%, a 17.5% decline year-over-year. Weekly users fell 19%, from 13.2% to 10.6%. Even more telling, trust in Temu compared to Amazon plummeted by 38% (from 7.9% to 4.9%).

“Temu’s initial buzz—fueled by viral marketing, gamified shopping, and rock-bottom prices—is fading. After making waves with a 2024 Super Bowl ad, the platform now faces a tougher 2025 landscape,” says Greg Zakowicz, Sr. Ecommerce Expert at Omnisend.

“Amazon’s launch of its ‘Haul’ shop in late 2024 has intensified competition for budget-conscious shoppers. Meanwhile, issues like long shipping times, inconsistent product quality, and waning consumer trust are starting to expose cracks in Temu’s foundation.”

One-Third of Consumers Ready to Pull Back

With the de minimis tax exemption set to expire on May 2 and a 54% tariff now active, Temu’s core value proposition — ultra-low prices — could be even more at risk.

Survey results also show that 29.5% of consumers would immediately stop buying or reduce their purchases from Temu if prices increased. A further 20.8% said they would stop shopping if prices increased by 20% or more.

More than half (55.8%) of respondents are worried about potential cost increases due to tariffs on Chinese goods. Meanwhile, only one in three respondents voiced their support for tariffs on Chinese goods.

“What consumers say and do are often two very different things, but as value-minded shopping becomes more prominent, shoppers will likely revert to purchasing from companies they are most comfortable with, and, as we see from the survey, that isn’t good news for Temu,” says Zakowicz.