Temu, the Chinese fast fashion brand that has taken e-commerce retail in the United States by storm in recent months, was the biggest ad spender for Meta Platforms’ social media sites Facebook and Instagram, according to a report.
Temu’s parent company PDD Holdings spent around $2 billion on ads with Meta last year alone, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The $2 billion figure represents 10% of Meta’s ad revenue last year, which is almost double compared to two years ago.
In its most recent earnings report, Meta said that its fourth quarter revenue rose 25% year-over-year to $40.11 billion while its full-year revenue was up 16% to $134.90 billion.
Meta’s sales figures were the best in two years — fueling a surge in the company’s stock price which catapulted CEO Mark Zuckerberg into the stratosphere of the top five richest moguls in the world, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
As of Thursday, Zuckerberg boasted a net worth of $184 billion — well ahead of the fifth richest person, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.
Temu, which sells inexpensive clothing which is produced rapidly by mass-market retailers based in China, was also among the five biggest spenders of advertisement on Google, the Journal reported.
In the last year alone, Temu has placed around 1.4 million global ads on Google and at least 26,000 ads on Meta’s sites.
Temu’s fast fashion rival, Shein, was also active in the digital advertising market in the US.
Shein was the 16th largest US advertiser by digital spending in the fourth quarter of 2023 — a 120% year-over-year increase.
The Post has sought comment from Temu, Meta and Google.
Temu has been spending like a billionaire to become America’s e-commerce champion, leaving winners and losers in its wake.
The popular shopping app aired commercials during the Super Bowl last month. Temu is estimated to have spent $21 million on Super Bowl commercials.
Bernstein analysts estimate that Temu directed over $1 billion to advertising last year outside the Asia-Pacific region.
Google and Meta have cornered the digital advertising market through their web sites including YouTube, Google Search, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger.
Both Shein and Temu have emerged as serious competitors to American retail behemoths Amazon and Walmart, according to recent sales data.
Shein and Temu together send almost 600,000 packages to the United States every day, according to a June 2023 report by the US Congress.
The threat to American businesses posed by Shein and Temu has prompted lawmakers on Capitol Hill to call for action.
US lawmakers have called for a ban on all imports of goods sold on Temu, citing concerns that the fast-growing company hasn’t done enough to crack down on forced labor.
With Post Wires
