Chinese Platform Temu Triggers Colombia's Shift to Online Shopping

Small-business owners feel impact from firm's ultra-low prices and free delivery

- Alfie Pannell

BOGOTA, Colombia - Since formally launching in Colombia in May 2024, Chinese e-commerce platform Temu has taken the country by storm, usurping Amazon to become the second-most popular shopping site after Argentine giant Mercado Libre.

But the Chinese firm's success does not lie just in outcompeting rival e-commerce sites.

It has been a catalyst in Colombia's transition from physical to online shopping, with the sector's sales revenue growing 17.6 per cent year on year in the first five months of 2025.

The total value of e-commerce sales in Latin America amounted to US$633 billion (S$814 billion) in 2024, and is tipped to rise to US$769 billion in 2025, representing a projected 21 per cent growth year on year, according to Payments and Commerce Market Intelligence, a market research firm.

The size of the e-commerce market in Colombia was estimated at US$5.03 billion in 2024, while it stood at US$42.2 billion in Mexico and US$41.4 billion in Brazil, according to E-Commerce Database, a market intelligence service.

'HIGH QUALITY, LOW PRICE'

"I started using Temu about a year ago because it offers high-quality products at low prices," said Mr Julian Andres Bermuda Lopez, a Colombian Uber driver.

"I actually preferred physical stores, local stores, but I wanted to try a virtual platform, and the truth is I really like it," he told The Straits Times.

Mr Lopez is not alone. Temu now receives some 24.8 million monthly visitors on its website and delivers an estimated 100,000 packages daily, according to the Colombian-Chinese Chamber of Commerce.

Other Chinese firms, such as Shein and AliExpress, are also significant players in Colombia and Latin America more broadly, offering direct-from-factory goods at discount rates.