Temu adjusts cash bonus campaign terms

Temu recently adjusted its cash bonus campaign terms and conditions ((T&C)) to accurately reflect that they only used usernames and profile referral notification images.

In response, a Temu spokesperson said: "Some participants in our recent cash prize campaign expressed concerns about the terms and conditions (T&Cs) of the promotion. To reassure our customers, we have adjusted the T&Cs to make it clear that we only use usernames and profile pictures for this promotion to enable referral functionality and winner announcements. The previous T&Cs were too broad and inadvertently included promotional uses that Temu does not engage in. Customer trust and satisfaction are at the core of Temu, and we do not and will not sell customer data."

Specifically, the only user information shared by Temu was the user's selected name and profile picture. This information was essential to the functioning of the referral program, allowing the recipient to: determine who sent the request; let the sender identify who accepted the request; and let Temu display partially redacted usernames and profile pictures of cash prize winners.

It is worth mentioning that Temu recently set up an office in Seoul, South Korea. It is understood that Pinduoduo officially registered and established a company named "WhaleCo, Korea Limited" on February 23, engaged in e-commerce and related business activities. WhaleCo Inc. is the name of Pinduoduo's subsidiary in the United States. Temu's Korean company has a total registered capital of 100 million won (74,000 US dollars), and its office address is shown as Jongno, Seoul, but the specific office location has not yet been announced.

In March this year, Earnest Analytics research showed that Temu's total revenue for the full year ending December 31, 2023 reached 247 billion yen (27 billion pounds), almost double the 130 billion yen (14.2 billion pounds) in the previous year; operating profit soared to 58 billion yen (6.3 billion pounds) in the same period, a significant increase of 93% from 30 billion yen (3.3 billion pounds) in 2022; in the fourth quarter of 2023, revenue soared 123% to 89 billion yen (9.7 billion pounds), and operating profit soared 146% to 22 billion yen (2.4 billion pounds).

Credit card data from investment firm Earnest Analytics shows that about 18% of U.S. households have shopped on Temu since its launch. Although Temu has not yet made meaningful progress with the largest online brands, Temu sales increased by 840% between January 2023 and 2024, and exceeded 1,100% during the 2023 holiday season.

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