Boomers and Gen Xers Are Temu’s Most Loyal Shoppers

Temu has become a destination app for people looking to get great deals on household merchandise, clothing, beauty items, and everything in between. However, the company’s most loyal shoppers are not Gen Z but their parents and grandparents.

Although Gen Z is the first fully digital generation, baby boomers have become tech-savvy. That has led them to become loyal Temu shoppers. The site is a U.S. offshoot of Chinese e-commerce giant Pinduoduo. 

Gen Xers and baby boomers shopped more frequently via the company’s U.S.-based platform than their younger counterparts did, according to the Chicago research firm Attain. Boomers also spent more than younger shoppers in the app’s first year of operation, as reported by Bloomberg.

Boomers 59 and older were the most loyal Temu shoppers. They placed about six orders over 12 months, twice as many as Gen Z shoppers ages 18 to 26, according to Attain. The company mines credit card data from a panel of 6.5 million consumers.

Temu debuted in the U.S. in late 2022 and quickly became one of the most downloaded shopping apps in recent history. The company also advertised aggressively to shoppers through Facebook, the social media site most used by boomers.

The site’s aesthetic is a virtual dollar store where anything can be purchased cheaply. Temu offers consumers an alternative to Amazon. According to the report, it provides significant discounts on a wide range of products in exchange for longer delivery times. 

The app’s game-like shopping experience makes visiting it feel like the chance to get your purchase almost for free. Users spin a roulette wheel to win discounts and free prizes and are rewarded for referrals. These methods entice shoppers to spend more money on the site than perhaps they intended.

Bloomberg quoted Emily Balcetis, an associate professor of psychology at New York University, about the app’s effect on shopping habits. She believes that the game aspect of getting deals on the website plays into gamification.

Balcetis also thinks that older shoppers are less conscious of how gamification plays into how much they are spending on Temu. The entertaining aspects of their shopping experience added to the deals and encouraged more spending.