By CHENG Lu

PDD Holdings' Temu has opened a Canadian version of its online mall. All information from the US site can be automatically synced with the Canadian site.

Temu is founded by PDD Holdings which operates the bargain-hunter e-commerce site Pingduoduo in the United States at the beginning of September. The assault on North America comes as US inflation is at a 40-year high.

In only six weeks, it became the most downloaded shopping app on Google Play in the US. Temu’s low-price strategy made it the most-downloaded shopping app in the iOS app store in November. It has remained on top since.

Some Temu sellers are shipping more than 1,000 orders a day. The platform offers low prices and free shipping for new users. Many products on Temu are priced below $0.90 (6 yuan).

Pinduoduo’s user base grew to over 800 million in seven years because of viral marketing, with the same message reaching millions of users. The company has persisted with this strategy rather than imitating the fragmented approach of US sellers. Temu advertising is now on Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.

Breaking into and establishing a presence in the mainstream North American market has long been a challenge for Chinese firms and Pinduoduo is very far out of the woods yet. Unlike the US, Canada’s population is much less dense and the vast landscape will certainly put more pressure on logistics.

Temu's competitiveness is based on supply-chain expertise. Pinduoduo’s marketing and supply chain know-how helped it grow during a consumer downgrade in China’s lower-tier cities.