LibraryNowPlayMechanicsMCP

Kinds

Campaign384Product105Food & drink30App & software57Film61Series75Music61Game124Book46Creator moment60Meme & format111Trend & aesthetic41Activity61Moment112
PricingPrivacyTermsRefundsPress
Library/App & software/Temu
Grade A26 sourcesHIS-01352

Temu

App & software · 2022 · Notable

54Editable slideCertificate

Temu reached No. 1 on US app charts while buying ads and rewarding referrals.

Clip · Temu on YouTube
Clip · Temu on YouTube
Temu's Shop Like a Billionaire ad
Temu on YouTube
Temu's shopping interface from its launch press release
Temu / PR Newswire
The Temu app on a phone
CNN
Temu's Big Game ad: a shopper reacts to her phone
Temu on YouTube

Spread Score

How it works
Reach90Contagion10Breadth90Velocity0Longevity4454

Numbers

US January 2024 MAUs (Sensor Tower via WSJ; later estimate)
51.4M
As of Jan 31, 2024 · App stores · The Wall Street Journal / Mint
Observed peak date
Week of Feb 18, 2024
Sep 1 ’22 to Week of Feb 18, 2024
Platforms
7
Started on App stores
Origin
Paid
Retail

Mechanics

  • Platform jumpPrimary
  • Press loop
  • Controversy
  • Pairing
  • Dupe economy

How it spread

Trace the origin

Temu launched in the US, climbed app charts and rewarded referrals. Meta ads and Super Bowl spots widened exposure. Wikipedia attention peaked after the repeat Super Bowl campaign; news explainers, scrutiny and an Amazon rival followed.

Observed peak within the documented measurement window; not an all-time maximum. Dates use the stated precision; chart positions are date anchors.

Wikipedia viewsJun ’22SepDecFeb ’23MayAugNovMar ’24JulDecMay ’25JulObserved peakApp storesFacebookPressTVOpen webTikTokYouTube
App storesFacebookPressTVOpen webTikTokYouTube

13 more events on this chart

Join free to see them

Timeline (16)

  1. September 2022

    Temu / PDD Holdings seed · Sep 1 ’22

    Temu launched its shopping website and app in the United States.[1][2]

    Open the first post ↗

  2. November 2022

    US iPhone users commercial · Nov 12 ’22

    Temu reached first place among free US iPhone apps across all categories.[3]

  3. December 2022

    TIME platform jump · Dec 29 ’22

    TIME documented reward-driven Facebook posts and replies containing referral codes.[4]

  1. press · Jan 28 ’23

  2. owner response · Feb 12 ’23

Join free to see the other 13 events and the full chart. Free, on every case.

or continue with Google

Why it worked

Do this

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3

Pro opens the playbook, all 13 sourced numbers and 26 sources. Start with a free account.

Join freeGo Pro
Origin
Paid
Sector
Retail
Region
US
US January 2024 MAUs (Sensor Tower via WSJ; later estimate)
51.4M
As of Jan 31, 2024 · App stores · The Wall Street Journal / Mint
Evidence
Grade A

Spread the same way

App & software · App stores · 202558

DeepSeek AI Assistant

DeepSeek

A free AI assistant reached an estimated 127 million app downloads by June.

23M downloads a month

1 / 8

  • DeepSeek AI Assistant
  • Pepe (PEPE)
  • EPIK AI Yearbook
  • Locket Widget
  • Character.AI mobile app
  • Lensa Magic Avatars
  • Polly
  • Gas app

New cases, every week

How the next thing spread, the week it does.