CHARLESTON, SC. — February 25th, 2025 A new study by Omnisend, a leading ecommerce marketing company, looked into two of the biggest ecommerce rivals of the past year — Temu and Amazon — to find out how many items match on both platforms and what strategies they use to compete. The research finds that while Temu matches 77% of Amazon products, every tenth item is identical.
The study also found that buyers can save 40%, or $13.37, per product on average by shopping on Temu instead of Amazon. However, customers should be careful when looking for a bargain on the Chinese platform because of product knock-offs and review manipulation, uncovered during Omnisend’s research.
Key Findings From the Omnisend Report:
• Temu has a close match for 77% of Amazon-listed products, and every tenth product is identical on both marketplaces.
• Consumers can save 40% on average by purchasing close matches on Temu, or around $13.37 per product on average. For identical products, the price difference is minimal.
• Temu offers significantly steeper and more frequent discounts than Amazon. While Amazon offers discounts on around 47% of its products, 65% of Temu’s listings are marked down.
• Brand imitation concerns: The study uncovered Temu products that closely resemble well-known brands, often with modified packaging, blurred logos, or removed branding.
• Amazon maintains a major trust advantage, with products averaging 50,000 reviews per listing compared to just 1,500 on Temu.
• While conducting the research, Omnisend researchers observed disappearing reviews and instances of poorly reviewed products being removed and reuploaded, suggesting potential review manipulation.
• Temu’s strongest category is Fashion & Beauty, where it has close matches for 94% of Amazon’s listings. The least-matched category is Food & Beverage.
• Automotive is the only category where Amazon beats Temu on price, offering products 12% cheaper on average.
With Temu and Shein gaining traction in the U.S. market, Amazon recently launched “Amazon Haul” — a storefront designed to highlight low-cost fashion and lifestyle products similar to what shoppers find on Temu.
“Amazon rarely reacts this quickly to competition, but the launch of “Amazon Haul” proves that Temu and Shein are changing the game,” says Greg Zakowicz, ecommerce expert at Omnisend. “Temu’s ability to offer near-identical products at lower prices is forcing Amazon to rethink its pricing strategy and push harder into the budget-conscious segment.”
The Flip Side of a Low Price on Temu
Even though Temu offers a low price, there are some aspects where the company loses to its competition. First, the shipping time for items ordered on Temu is much longer than those ordered on Amazon and other US-based ecommerce platforms.
Second, one of the most striking findings from Omnisend’s report is the potential imitation of branded products on Temu. The study uncovered examples of well-known items being sold with brand names blurred or removed, raising questions about the trustworthiness of the platform.
Furthermore, while conducting the research, Omnisend researchers observed disappearing reviews and instances of poorly reviewed products being removed and reuploaded, suggesting potential review manipulation.
However, as the previous survey by Omnisend showed — trust is not the main factor that drives customers’ choices. Only 3.5% of Canadians say they trust Temu, but 55% have shopped there in the past year.
Greg Zakowicz: “Temu is resetting consumer expectations around pricing.”
According to Zakowicz, Temu’s aggressive approach is shifting consumer expectations on what everyday products should cost, putting pressure on competitors to adapt.
“Value-minded shopping has been a staple of consumers over the past year-plus, and with economic uncertainty hanging over 2025, I expect this to continue. For most ecommerce businesses, competing on price with large brands and discount-heavy marketplaces isn’t viable. Ecommerce businesses that want to grow despite economic headwinds will need to find ways to compete in other ways.”
What This Means for Small-Medium Ecommerce Businesses
As the ecommerce landscape shifts due to Temu’s pricing tactics and Amazon’s response, smaller online businesses must adapt to remain competitive. Greg Zakowicz offers these key recommendations for SMBs looking to navigate this changing market:
• Leverage brand trust and authenticity. Shoppers may be attracted to low-cost options, but trust and brand loyalty remain strong differentiators. Focus on transparency, high-quality product descriptions, and capture customer reviews to build credibility.
• Optimize pricing strategies. While competing purely on price with Temu or Amazon may not be feasible, offering value-driven bundles, personalized promotions, and limited-time discounts can help attract and retain customers.
• Strengthen customer retention efforts. Loyalty programs, email marketing, and post-purchase engagement can encourage repeat business and reduce the impact of price-driven competitors.
• Diversify sales channels. Explore selling on alternative marketplaces like Etsy, Walmart Marketplace, or direct-to-consumer (DTC) platforms like Shopify to reduce dependence on Amazon or risk losing customers to Temu.
• Emphasize fast and reliable shipping. Consumers often prioritize convenience over price. Offering faster shipping options or better customer service than low-cost competitors can give SMBs an advantage.
Methodology
Omnisend’s research examined 23 product categories, analyzing the top 25 best-selling products in each category to ensure representative findings. Temu products were classified into three groups:
- Close Match (77%) – products similar in function and attributes to those on Amazon.
- Perfect Match (10%) – identical Amazon products available on Temu under the same brand.
- No Match (13%) – Amazon products that don’t have an alternative on Temu.
Key data points collected included pricing trends, discount rates, number of reviews, and sale status. Amazon-exclusive items were excluded to maintain objectivity. The timing of the research: December 1st, 2024 – January 31st, 2025.
About Omnisend
Omnisend is an email & SMS marketing platform with a suite of features made specifically to help ecommerce stores grow their online businesses faster. One-click integration with major ecommerce platforms, pre-made automation & email templates, and award-winning 24/7/365 live customer support make it easy for brands of any size to sell more—all without the exaggerated cost.
“Great marketing needs to be expensive” is a myth that 125,000+ Omnisend customers are busting every day by growing their businesses with email and SMS marketing.”
Related Reading
7 Surprising Ways to Boost Ecommerce Profits with 3PL Fulfillment
5 Crucial Steps to Optimize Your Online Customer Path to Profitability
Please share your experience or questions in the comments below, or join us in the Online Business Canada Facebook group.
For weekly inspiration, insights, tips, and resources, sign up for the Online Business Canada newsletter!
7 Recession Proof Online Businesses To Start From Home
Expert help to choose, start, and run a successful online business!
“Almost 200 pages of pure gold…”
GET IT ON AMAZON
Or Other Major Ebook Retailers
——————————————
DISCLOSURE: Our content is provided for informational purposes only and does not guarantee results.
Unique products could do OK on Temu but anything already there is already priced to low to compete with from Canada. Might get knocked off too.
People know how risky it is to buy cheap and they do it anyway so there isn’t much to be done about that. We can outdo them in lots of other ways like you said. GO CANADIAN SMALL BIZ!