After a successful debut roughly a year ago, Chinese online retailer Temu is adding Zulu as the second language option on its South African app. The app quickly gained massive popularity in the country, becoming one of the most downloaded apps in the months following its launch. Now, more users can throw their pennies at the platform in exchange for goods they probably don’t need.
Temu goes native
Temu found itself a hit in the South African market and only took a few months to climb the ranks to become the most downloaded app in the country on the iOS and Google Play app stores. That’s further backed up by a recent poll from Temu and News24 that found approximately 33% of the 1,700 respondents have used the app before, with 40% of those becoming regular monthly users.
Despite that, the platform has faced criticism for its alleged selling of cheap products and user data collection. The EU has increased regulations on e-commerce platforms, including Temu, making said platforms liable for the so-called ‘unsafe’ or ‘illegal’ goods they sell.
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The platform has also come under fire in the US last year with multiple lawsuits around the company’s alleged data collection and marketing practices. However, the platform remains popular for more cash-strapped consumers who are willing to trade quality for cost and convenience.
Temu hopes by making itself accessible to more South Africans it can expand its reach and bottomline even further. It’s certainly not a bad move to add the nation’s most commonly spoken language to make the experience more user-friendly.
