I want to weigh in here because I see comments focusing on how these products are useless trash. I think that's missing the point.

This wealthy engineer mindset is too literal. The AI-generated photos and fake reviews aren't bugs. They're features. They let the poor American with $100 of disposable income pretend they found a way to get an Apple Watch for $11. Just for a few days, they get to believe it might be real. When it arrives and it's crap, they knew it would be. But they got to play the fantasy.

TEMU's tagline is "Shop like a billionaire." I want you to really think about that. Marketers test hundreds of combinations to find what resonates. TEMU probably has thousands of marketers. They've tested millions of possible hooks. Millions. And this is what won.

"Shop like a billionaire" is the message that brought new people in the door above all others. Now what about churn? That's not the tagline's job. Don't let your knowledge of what exactly TEMU does and how it functions conceal from you this signal of what many (not all!!) people want.

However I believe they're not scamming people. They're delivering exactly what they're selling, which is the experience of feeling like you could have nice things.

Twenty years ago you could go to a matinee movie for a dollar. Two hours of escapism for a dollar. That product doesn't exist anymore. Theaters decided to serve a different customer base. They went upmarket. But people still want cheap escapism. Now it's $1-3 on TEMU to get that same escape. You browse, you dream, you wait for the package. It's entertainment.

TEMU is making things people want.

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Marsymars 2 days ago | parent | next [-]

> TEMU's tagline is "Shop like a billionaire." I want you to really think about that. Marketers test hundreds of combinations to find what resonates. TEMU probably has thousands of marketers. They've tested millions of possible hooks. Millions. And this is what won. "Shop like a billionaire" is the message that resonated above all others.

Not saying you’re wrong, but I find “Shop like a billionaire” to be a deeply weird slogan.

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jhbadger 2 days ago | parent [-]

Yeah. Do billionaires shop? Don't they have people who take care of that for them?

	▲	close04 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		I asked a friend who is probably right in the target audience (very low to no disposable income) how he reads that slogan. He said “never worry about the price”. It’s in line with the people it might try to attract, the ones for whom the price is of utmost importance, above all else.

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whatshisface 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

Wire $1,000 to my bank account and I will wire $1,000,000 (or equivalent in financial experience product) back in just a few days. Only one condition - you have to explain what happened to you afterwards.