AliExpress, Temu users decline sharply in May amid quality issues

[Graphics by Song Ji-yoon]

The once-surging popularity of Chinese e-commerce platforms AliExpress and Temu in South Korea is waning.

The number of new downloads of these apps has reached their lowest point in seven months, following recent controversies surrounding harmful substances detected in cheap products sold on these platforms and growing concerns about data privacy issues associated with Chinese e-commerce, sources said.

According to Wiseapp Retail Goods, AliExpress saw a 3.4 percent decline in monthly active users in Korea in May, dropping to 8.3 million from 8.59 million in the previous month.

Similarly, Temu experienced a 3.3 percent decrease, with its user base falling to 7.97 million, ceding its third-place ranking to 11Street, which now has 8 million users.

Coupang Inc. remained the top e-commerce app in Korea with 31.12 million users. Following Temu were Gmarket with 5.68 million users, Tmon with 4.53 million, and WeMakePrice with 3.88 million.

The user numbers for AliExpress and Temu, which had been consistently increasing since their introduction to the Korean market, started to decline in April.

This latest report highlights that, except for WeMakePrice, which saw a 7.7 percent decrease in users, all other domestic platforms experienced growth in their user base, in stark contrast to the declining figures for AliExpress and Temu.

New app downloads for both Chinese platforms have also dropped significantly.

Data from mobile big data company IGA Works showed that AliExpress had approximately 530,000 new app downloads in May, down 33 percent from the previous month.

Temu’s new downloads fell by 25 percent to 1.71 million during the same period. Combined, the new downloads for these two apps totaled 2.24 million, the lowest since October last year.