2024-03-28 05:03:54
The consumer advice center is warning the online shop company Temu for several violations. These are the backgrounds.
The online shop Temu has only been around for almost two years – but the platform has quickly become one of the best-known of its kind. According to a survey from December 2023, Temu came in fourth place among the most frequented online shops in Germany. Only Amazon, Ebay and Otto could top this.
But the marketplace is also often criticized. As tempting as the low prices of the numerous items from all possible areas are, the quality of the cheap goods often leaves a lot to be desired. And that’s not the only point of criticism. The Federal Association of Consumer Organizations (vzbv) has now even issued a warning to the platform because it has identified several violations.
Temu website design is “manipulative”
Specifically, this involves, among other things, the non-transparent pricing and the manipulative design of the website. As the vzbv explains in a press release, Temu offers high discounts of up to 70 percent – without giving customers a reference price.
Potential buyers receive numerous pop-ups and notices on the website to encourage them to purchase. Temu promises discounts if a certain number of products are purchased or the newsletter is subscribed to. Warnings that an item is about to sell out or that the supposed discount is about to expire also put consumers under pressure.
Such manipulative designs, also known as “dark patterns”, have been banned in the EU since February 17, 2024 under the Digital Services Act, as the vzbv explains in its announcement. The association also criticizes that Temu does not provide sufficient information about how the authenticity of product reviews should be ensured. There have already been suspicions in the past that reviews of the shop – including on sites like Trustpilot – were fake.
Temu pretends to be sustainable
There is also a lack of information about the identity of the product providers. Temu acts as an online marketplace. This means that the company is a kind of intermediary between customers and dealers. The latter are very often based in China.
And there is another marketing trick that the consumer advice center objects to. Temu advertises that customers can reduce their carbon footprint if they have their order delivered to a pickup station instead of directly to their home. However, since many items come from China or other distant countries, “the products have already traveled a long way before they are delivered,” according to the vzbv.
Regarding the warning, vzbv board member Ramona Pop explains that “consumers must be protected from such business practices.” The consumer advice center generally advises caution when shopping at Temu. You can read why here.