How much space do we have in our lives for very cheap stuff? That\u2019s something Freya, a professional based in Christchurch, has had cause to wonder. She looks around her house as we talk, spotting a turtle-shaped incense holder, clips to assist vines to trail around the walls, and an egg holder slotted in the fridge. All from Temu. \u201cI\u2019ve always liked silly, quirky home decor,\u201d she says. \u201cMy house is very unique.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Freya still goes to physical shops, like The Warehouse or Kmart, when she wants something immediately, but she appreciates the sheer variety Temu offers. \u201cIt fills a different niche.\u201d<\/p>\n
Retailers, however, are concerned. Carolyn Young, spokesperson for industry group Retail NZ says despite talk of an economic recovery, domestic retail spending is nearly flat<\/a>.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s a two-speed economy \u2013 people are spending overseas, not domestically,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n Retail spending in December, often a big month because of Christmas, was down 0.1 per cent, although spending in the last quarter of 2025 increased compared to the September quarter.\u00a0<\/p>\n New Zealand companies are going up against giants online. \u201cA large international organisation with deeper pockets can infiltrate the digital space,\u201d Young says.<\/p>\n Whether it\u2019s the economy, the overseas competition of platforms like Temu, or both, retailers are definitely facing hard times. The Warehouse Group has just announced it\u2019s cutting 270 head office roles<\/a>, and 61 different shops<\/a> said they were closing in the first two weeks of January 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s difficult to track exactly how many New Zealanders are using Temu, and when, or why they\u2019re using, but it\u2019s clearly being used throughout Aotearoa. Flags sit next to product reviews on the company\u2019s platform denoting where the purchaser is from. New Zealand flags proliferated, including under headband multipacks<\/a>, car seat fillers<\/a> and arch support insoles<\/a>.<\/p>\n Then, there\u2019s a dreary Facebook group for New Zealanders looking for Temu discount codes, the endless Temu ads that pop up online, and the way Temu has become shorthand for \u201ccheap\u201d all over the country.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Freya initially became hooked on Temu thanks to a marketing campaign. It involved a fishing game, where sending links to people would feed the fish, and enough fish qualified you for free items. \u201cI got completely sucked in,\u201d she says. The digital advertising was incessant; she estimates that at least once a week, she would see an ad on YouTube or Google for a novel or intriguing item, and open Temu again. \u201cI would go on there and put heaps of things in my cart \u2013 it\u2019s all so cheap that you feel like you\u2019re getting a bargain.\u201d<\/p>\n Freya has found Temu\u2019s website alluring too, and finds herself scrolling through dozens of products. \u201cIt\u2019s addictive and distracting, harder to stay on task than in any physical shop,\u201d she says. She recently went to Panda Express and found the overwhelm similar \u2013 lots of gizmos and gadgets, brightly lit gimmicks and genuinely useful items all stacked together, making it hard to separate what she needed from what she didn\u2019t. She\u2019s just uninstalled the Temu app. \u201cI was spending a lot of money on stuff I didn\u2019t need,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n While Temu can come under fire for the quality of its items, Freya and Crystal both say they have received prompt refunds. Freya estimates that about one in 10 products she\u2019s received from Temu is defective in some way. \u201cYou get returns so freely that it\u2019s not an issue if [you order and] it\u2019s junk,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n Freya\u2019s friends don\u2019t all share her Temu addiction. She says some are concerned about consumerism and sustainability. \u201cObviously it isn\u2019t ethical getting plastic bits and bobs you don\u2019t need,\u201d she says.\u00a0But she wonders if it\u2019s any better for the environment or people to buy products from a New Zealand-based company, if they\u2019re made in similar factories, with similar worker conditions, in similar parts of the world. \u201cFrom the consumer side, it\u2019s hard to tell,\u201d Freya says.\u00a0<\/p>\n Young, however, points out that products sold in New Zealand, like kids\u2019 toys or clothing, have to meet health and safety standards and come under the Consumer Guarantees Act. \u201cNew Zealand businesses must comply with New Zealand standards. If you buy directly from a supplier in Asia none of those requirements exist.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n