Temu’s US monthly active users grew 21% year over year from January to May 2026, according to Sensor Tower data reported by Digiday in June 2026. A year earlier the same app lost half its US audience. Sellers on Temu, and shoppers who return Temu goods to other stores, now work in a market with a bumpy growth line, a record fine and a long return window.
Temu is owned by PDD Holdings, and PDD does not publish Temu sales on their own. So we use what is public and say where each number comes from. We left out any “Temu GMV” figure because we could not trace one to a primary source.
How many people use Temu in the US?
Figure 1: Temu’s US monthly active users, year-over-year change. Source: Sensor Tower via Digiday, June 2026.
Temu’s US monthly active users grew 21% year over year from January to May 2026, per Sensor Tower. The same app averaged between 5.5 million and 6.8 million US downloads a month over those five months, according to Apptopia data cited by Digiday. Neither firm gave a total user count for 2026, so there is no clean “Temu has X million US users” number to quote this year.
The last hard total came a year earlier. Sensor Tower counted 40.2 million US monthly active users for Temu from March to June 2025, a 51% drop, as reported by the Financial Times. Shein, the closest rival, fell 12% to 41.4 million in the same window.
Figure 2: US monthly active users after the 2025 shock. Source: Sensor Tower via the Financial Times, June 2025.
A 21% rise sounds big, but it is measured against a period when Temu was shrinking in the US. That is our reading of the two data points, not a figure either firm published. Read 2026 as a recovery from a low base.
The takeaway: Temu’s US audience fell by half in 2025 and is climbing back in 2026, from a lower base.
What knocked Temu’s US users down in 2025?
A change in US import rules did. On May 2, 2025, the US scrapped its low-value goods exemption, known as “de minimis”, which had let parcels worth less than $800 enter duty free. It was replaced with a 90% tariff, later cut to as low as 30% in a wider trade de-escalation, according to the Irish Times.
Temu pulled back fast. Its US ad spending fell 87% over the three months to June 2025, compared with the same period a year earlier, and Shein’s fell 69% (Sensor Tower, via the Irish Times). Fewer ads meant fewer new shoppers, and the user count followed.
That is the backdrop for every number in this post. Temu’s cheap-parcel model depends on trade rules, and when they change the audience moves within weeks.
How much does Temu spend on US advertising?
Temu has cut US ad spend on almost every platform in 2026. Comparing January to May 2026 with the same months of 2025, Sensor Tower found Temu’s spend on X fell 95%, on YouTube and TikTok 74%, on Snapchat 46% and on Instagram 10%. Pinterest was the exception, up 66%.
Figure 3: Year-over-year change in US ad spend by platform. Source: Sensor Tower via Digiday, June 2026.
Digiday quoted Enders Analysis analyst Claire Holubowskyj saying Temu’s strategy is “transitioning to focus more on efficiency and user retention.” The money that remains goes mostly to one company. Meta took 75% of Temu’s US ad budget over those five months, with 59% on Facebook and 16% on Instagram.
The takeaway: Temu now buys fewer ads in more concentrated places, and it still grew users.
Where does Temu’s US ad budget go?
Pinterest holds 12% of Temu’s US ad budget in 2026, double its share a year earlier, per Sensor Tower. Snap holds 5%, TikTok 2% and YouTube 1%, and X dropped from 8% to under 1%.
Figure 4: Temu’s US ad budget by platform. “All other platforms” is the 8% remainder after the named shares, which covers TikTok, YouTube, X and anything else. Source: Sensor Tower via Digiday, June 2026.
The 8% remainder is our subtraction from the published shares, so read it as a rounded balance.
Temu did not respond to Digiday’s request for comment on the figures.
How much money does Temu’s parent company make?
PDD Holdings reported 2025 revenue of RMB431.8 billion (US$61.75 billion), up 10% from RMB393.8 billion in 2024. Net income attributable to shareholders fell 12% to RMB99.4 billion. The figures come from PDD’s results release of March 25, 2026, filed with the SEC.
Figure 5: PDD Holdings revenue and net income. Source: PDD Holdings Form 6-K, March 25, 2026.
| Line item, full year 2025 | RMB billions | Change vs 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Total revenue | 431.8 | +10% |
| Online marketing services and others | 217.8 | +10% |
| Transaction services | 214.1 | +9% |
| Net income | 99.4 | -12% |
Source: PDD Holdings Form 6-K, March 25, 2026.
The release does not mention Temu by name. Any “Temu revenue” number you see online is an estimate from a third party, not a PDD disclosure. In the fourth quarter alone, PDD’s revenue rose 12% to RMB123.9 billion and transaction services rose 19%.
PDD Holdings, fiscal 2025
The takeaway: PDD grew sales 10% in 2025 and kept less of each yuan as profit.
How big are the fines against Temu?
The European Commission fined Temu 200 million euros in May 2026 for breaching the Digital Services Act (DSA). Global News reported the decision on May 28, 2026. It followed a probe opened in 2024 and preliminary findings in July 2025.
Figure 6: The 2026 EU fine under the Digital Services Act. Sources: Global News, May 2026; The Star, July 2025.
The Commission found Temu’s 2024 risk assessment relied on general information about e-commerce risks rather than evidence from Temu’s own service, according to Lewis Silkin’s summary of the decision. Mystery shopping found that many chargers failed basic safety tests and that many baby toys carried medium to high safety risks. The DSA caps fines at 6% of a provider’s global annual turnover (Article 74 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065).
Temu told Global News it disagreed with the Commission’s findings and called the fine disproportionate. It has until August 28, 2026 to submit an action plan, per Lewis Silkin.
In the US, the Department of Justice announced on September 8, 2025 that Temu’s operator, Whaleco Inc., would pay a $2 million civil penalty under the INFORM Consumers Act. The complaint said Temu did not disclose required information about high-volume third-party sellers and did not consistently provide required reporting channels for suspicious activity.
Figure 7: Key dates for Temu. Sources: The Star, Irish Times, DOJ, Global News, Digiday.
The 75 million figure is the average monthly EU users for the six months to March 31, 2024, reported by The Star when the Commission named Temu a very large online platform on May 31, 2024. Platforms above 45 million users get the strictest DSA duties.
The takeaway: the EU fine is about 100 times the US penalty in nominal terms, and the DSA allows fines of up to 6% of global annual turnover.
What is Temu’s return and refund policy?
Temu lets you return most items within 90 days of purchase, per its own US return policy page, with some electronics limited to 45, 60 or 90 days depending on the seller. This is a rolling source, so the numbers below are as of November 2026, per Temu’s live policy page.
Figure 8: How a Temu return moves from request to refund. Source: Temu US return and refund policy, as of November 2026.
Free return shipping covers the first return of returnable items from each order. For a second or later return from the same order, Temu deducts $7.99 plus tax from your refund. Refunds to a card or bank can take 5 to 14 business days and up to 30 days, while Temu credit is faster. Damaged or defective fresh food must be reported within 72 hours of delivery.
| Temu return rule | Value |
|---|---|
| Return window, most items | 90 days |
| Time to ship the package back | 14 days |
| Charge on a second return from one order | $7.99 plus tax |
| Bank or card refund time | 5 to 14 business days, up to 30 |
Source: Temu US return and refund policy, as of November 2026.
If you sell to the same shoppers, they now expect Temu’s 90-day window as a baseline. Write your own terms clearly, and use a Refund Policy Generator page to state your window, your shipping rule and your refund timing in plain words. For how return rates look across online stores, see our ecommerce return rate data for 2026.
The takeaway: Temu sets a 90-day bar, and a second return from one order is where the fee starts.
How does Temu compare with other marketplaces?
Temu is one of several fast-growing marketplaces, and each one sets its own rules. Our guides cover Amazon’s sellers and sales, TikTok Shop’s US sales and returns and the wider social commerce market. TikTok Shop gives 30 days for returns by default, which is a third of Temu’s 90.
| Marketplace | Standard return window | Source in our guides |
|---|---|---|
| Temu | 90 days from purchase | Temu return policy |
| TikTok Shop | 30 days from delivery | TikTok Shop Seller Center |
The takeaway: return windows differ by a factor of three, so a seller cannot copy one marketplace’s terms onto another’s.
The Bottom Line
Temu’s US users grew 21% year over year from January to May 2026, but the base is the 40.2 million left after the 2025 drop. PDD Holdings still grew revenue 10% to RMB431.8 billion and cut US ad spend on almost every platform except Pinterest and Meta. Regulators are now part of the cost of doing business, with a 200 million euro EU fine and a $2 million US penalty on record.
If you sell online, the useful number is 90. That is the return window Temu shoppers are used to, and it shapes what they expect from you. Publish your return rules in plain words and keep them current.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many people use Temu in the US? Sensor Tower counted 40.2 million US monthly active users for Temu between March and June 2025, down 51%. Digiday reported in June 2026 that the same measure grew 21% year over year from January to May 2026.
How much money does Temu’s parent company make? PDD Holdings, which owns Temu, reported 2025 revenue of RMB431.8 billion (US$61.75 billion), up 10%, and net income of RMB99.4 billion, down 12%. PDD does not break out Temu on its own.
Has Temu been fined? Yes. The European Commission fined Temu 200 million euros under the Digital Services Act in May 2026, and Temu’s operator Whaleco agreed to pay a $2 million US civil penalty in September 2025.
What is Temu’s return window? Most items can be returned within 90 days of purchase, and the package must be shipped within 14 days of submitting the return request. A second return from the same order costs $7.99 plus tax.
Sources and References
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Digiday. (2026). “Tariffs Forced Temu to Slash Its U.S. Ad Spend on Nearly Every Platform.” Sensor Tower and Apptopia data, January to May 2026.
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The Irish Times. (2025). “US shoppers ditch Shein and Temu as Trump closes tax loophole.” Sensor Tower data.
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TipRanks / TheFly. (2025). “Temu, Shein see drop in monthly active users in U.S., FT says.” Financial Times reporting of Sensor Tower data.
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PDD Holdings. (2026). “Fourth Quarter 2025 and Fiscal Year 2025 Unaudited Financial Results,” Form 6-K, SEC.
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Global News. (2026). “Temu fined 200 million euros over illegal products.”
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Lewis Silkin. (2026). “European Commission fines Temu 200 million for breaching the Digital Services Act.”
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The Star. (2025). “EU says Temu in breach of rules to prevent sale of illegal products.”
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The Star. (2024). “Temu will have to comply with tougher EU online content rules, EU says.”
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US Department of Justice. (2025). “Temu Agrees to $2M Civil Penalty and Injunction for Alleged Violations of the INFORM Consumers Act.” Press Release No. 25-920.
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Temu. “Return and Refund Policy” (US). Live policy page, read November 2026.
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EUR-Lex. Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, Digital Services Act, Article 74 (fines up to 6% of annual worldwide turnover).
Note: All figures verified as of November 2026. Ad spend, user counts and Temu’s policy page are rolling sources and change often, so headline figures are refreshed at least twice a year.
