China’s Temu, the e-commerce platform celebrated for its wide selection of affordable products, is marking significant milestones as it deepens its roots in Canada and expands its global influence.
Temu first launched its operations in Canada in 2023, introducing Canadian consumers to a vast range of value-for-money products. The platform’s presence in the country quickly gained momentum, and by the end of 2024, it experienced rapid expansion—so much so that Apple announced Temu as the top downloaded iPhone app in Canada for 2024.
Building on this success, Temu is opening its platform to Canadian sellers this month, launching a local-to-local model that connects Canadian businesses directly with Canadian consumers.
Under this initiative, only businesses registered in Canada with local inventory and fulfillment capabilities are eligible to participate. By incorporating more homegrown products—including bulkier items that are typically challenging to ship via airfreight—Temu aims to offer faster order fulfillment and an enhanced shopping experience.
“For consumers, the addition of local sellers means they’ll soon be able to shop for their favorite homegrown products on Temu,” said a Temu spokesperson. “By introducing more locally stocked options, we’re making it easier for businesses to connect with millions of shoppers while improving the overall shopping experience.”
Temu’s expansion isn’t confined to Canada. Globally, the platform is experiencing unprecedented growth. In August 2024, temu.com was ranked as the #2 website in Similarweb’s e-commerce marketplace rankings, attracting 684.4 million visits worldwide. That same month, the Temu app recorded 185.6 million monthly active users in the U.S.
Throughout 2024, Temu dominated the mobile app download charts in over 40 countries, including major markets such as the U.S., Europe, South Korea, and the Middle East. Downloads surged by 69% year-over-year, reaching 550 million in 2024, while its cumulative global downloads neared 900 million as of December 2024.
Temu’s local-to-local model will also available in other key markets including the United States, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Sweden, Japan, and South Korea.
This is with invitation only. Therefore, it is NOT good news for Canadian sellers. I never won the lottery before.