Temu, locked in a fierce rivalry with Amazon.com Inc., is focusing on one of many e-commerce big’s hottest product strains: the Fireplace TV streaming system.
Temu is promoting Alexa-activated distant controls which might be appropriate with Amazon’s Fireplace TV Stick for as little as $4. Related generic variations price about $10 on Amazon.com, whereas the official Fireplace TV substitute is about $25.
Since rising in 2022, Temu has challenged Amazon’s speedy supply ensures by providing steep reductions to buyers prepared to attend a few week to obtain their orders.
The knock-off Fireplace TV remotes are promoting briskly, based on Temu’s website, which gave the “best seller” badge to 1 product described as a “replacement Alexa Voice Remote Control” that’s appropriate with Fireplace TV streaming units.
Temu buyers bought greater than 75,000 items of the product, which had a 4.6-star ranking from hundreds of critiques. Lots of the reviewers stated the substitute seemed precisely just like the remotes that got here with their Amazon streaming units. The units are offered by a China-based firm referred to as “Cilcone,” based on the web site.
“I was skeptical that this would work, but for the cost was willing to try,” one overview dated Aug. 16 states. “All I had to do was put batteries in, follow the instructions and within 30 seconds it was controlling my Fire Cube and TV.”
It’s unclear whether or not Temu plans to hold different Fireplace TV-related gadgetry.
“The products are sold by our third-party independent sellers,” a Temu spokesperson stated in a press release. “Similar products are widely available across various online marketplaces.”
An Amazon spokesperson stated the corporate is investigating the scenario.
Temu father or mother PDD Holdings Inc. in August spooked buyers after warning that income progress will sluggish because it battles rivals chasing China’s budget-conscious customers. Challenges at residence are making PDD extra depending on abroad markets just like the US, the place Temu is establishing its personal supply operation and actively wooing Amazon sellers.
About 35% of all streaming media units used within the US are made by Amazon, placing it No. 2 behind Roku, based on Parks Associates, a market analysis agency primarily based in Addison, Texas. Amazon launched the Fireplace TV line of media gamers a decade in the past and so they’ve turn into the corporate’s best-selling merchandise. Their remotes function a button that directs viewers to Amazon’s video streaming service, which helped it develop that enterprise as nicely.
Amazon has lengthy been criticized for hurting its model companions by creating generic variations of their merchandise and undercutting them on worth. The Seattle-based firm has launched its personal batteries, clothes, baggage, residence items and extra. Amazon has favored its personal merchandise in search outcomes over these bought by rivals, which violates antitrust guidelines, the Federal Commerce Fee alleged in a lawsuit in opposition to the corporate final yr.
4-dollar remotes may equally undermine Amazon’s Fireplace TV enterprise, particularly if Chinese language factories begin churning out different generic equipment. Some buyers will take of venture on the Temu distant to economize even when it’s just some {dollars}, stated Rob Volpe, a shopper habits skilled in San Francisco.
“Historically, the distribution channel for a brand is one of the key indicators to consumers of the premium nature or value of something,” he stated. “To see Amazon products show up on Temu looks a little weird and out of place, but I would say it isn’t hurting the brand.”
(Updates with Temu remark in seventh paragraph.)
