When Temu entered the Pakistani market, it arrived with the ambition of a tech giant on a mission to disrupt. With a flood of ads across TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram, the platform promised rock-bottom prices, cashback games, and deals that created a sense of urgency for shoppers across the country. For a brief moment, it appeared Temu had cracked the code to low-cost online shopping. But less than a year later, cracks are beginning to show.
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) recently informed the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance that Temu had generated Rs1.8 billion across nearly 377,000 purchases in FY25. These are significant numbers for a company that has only just entered the market. However, the scale of sales is now being matched by the scale of customer complaints as raises serious doubts about any customer loyalty or retention the platform has been able to score against the heavy investment it has made in marketing.
What began as whispers online has turned into a steady stream of frustration across Pakistani social media. Customers have reported undelivered packages, incorrect orders, unauthorised charges, and the complete absence of any meaningful customer service. Several users have posted about orders marked as delivered in the app that never reached their homes. Refunds, when requested, are either delayed indefinitely or ignored altogether.
Temu itself acknowledges on the app that orders originate from international warehouses and can take 7 to 15 business days to arrive. But Pakistani consumers are increasingly finding themselves waiting well beyond that timeframe. Some never receive their items at all. More worryingly, there is no local contact point or support system to address these complaints, leaving consumers with little recourse.
The platform’s structure relies heavily on gamification to keep users hooked. From spin-the-wheel offers to invite-and-earn referral schemes, Temu encourages repeat purchases through psychological nudges rather than service reliability. Customers report that once they begin engaging with these offers, they often end up spending more than planned, while still not receiving the goods they paid for.
These concerns are not unique to Pakistan. Internationally, Temu is facing legal challenges. In the United States, a class action complaint was recently filed by thousands of customers through the American Arbitration Association. The claims include false advertising, deceptive trade practices, and the mishandling of private consumer data. The case alleges that the company engaged in bad-faith tactics when dealing with customer complaints and made misleading claims about product delivery and data privacy.
In Pakistan, the problem is further compounded by the lack of local accountability. Temu does not maintain physical operations, a customer service centre, or legal representation within the country. This creates a gap in consumer protection, allowing the company to operate freely without being held responsible for service failures or data practices. Pakistani buyers, in effect, are left to fend for themselves.
This situation poses important questions for regulators. How should foreign digital platforms operating in Pakistan be held accountable? What safeguards are in place to protect consumers from companies that offer no local oversight or redressal systems? And how can the country balance access to global e-commerce platforms with the need to enforce standards of service and data security?
As the complaints mount, there are growing calls to investigate Temu’s operations and consumer practices. Without intervention, the early hype around Temu risks turning into widespread disillusionment towards e-commerce itself. For now, Temu’s rise in Pakistan is beginning to resemble a cautionary tale. In the absence of clear regulatory checks, what was initially sold as a revolution in affordable online shopping has quickly reduced to a derogatory insult, with the brand’s name now being synonymous with anyone or anything subpar.
