Does Temu ads even work? If price comparison beats ads, why did they even build an ad system?

For anyone testing ads on semi-managed—don’t expect Amazon-level results. Temu’s ad system is still rough around the edges. Data’s messy, targeting’s hit or miss. It works best when you’re already running a promotion and just need to get more eyes on it.
Also, don’t sleep on the price comparison system. Even if you run ads, if a competitor drops their price below yours? Temu will still show theirs first. Ads don’t override price—remember that.

Temu’s ad system is basically just another way for sellers to buy traffic, if we’re being real. Before, you had to slash prices to get seen. Now you can pay for it without killing your margins. I think the platform’s just testing which approach sticks.
But here’s what I’ve noticed lately—traffic is shifting to ads. If you don’t run ads now, it’s way harder to get visibility. Unless your product has a killer price point and your category manager is actively pushing it, you’re gonna struggle.

Tried Temu ads when they first launched. Total money burn, man. Like 1:1 trade—spend a dollar, get a sale, no organic lift at all. I turned ’em off after a week and put all that cash into promotions. That’s still Temu’s main traffic source, right? Lower price = more visibility = orders. It’s frustrating as hell, but that’s the game we’re playing here.

use ads as an accelerator, not your main traffic source*
100% this. Ads on Temu are more about amplifying what’s already working, not saving a dud product. If your price isn’t competitive? Ads won’t fix that. Waste of money, honestly.

I ran a Temu semi-managed account for about half a year before switching over to Amazon. Let me just lay it out straight: you can’t get around the price comparison system. It’s built into the platform, period. No way around it.
But hey, here’s the silver lining: semi-managed is way more lenient than full-managed. The catch, though? If Temu catches your product on Amazon at a lower price—like during a promo or Black Friday/Cyber Monday—they’ll hit you up and ask you to match it. Usually around 85% of Amazon’s promo price, from what I saw.
Product lifecycle on Temu is brutal, man. If you don’t gain traction early, you’re pretty much sunk. Even ads won’t save you later. So here’s how I looked at it: use ads as an accelerator at the start, not your main traffic source. The real win is getting early sales volume so your category manager notices you and gives you that organic push.
A few tactics that actually worked for me (assuming you have product variations, obviously):

1. Don’t list all variations at once. Add ’em little by little. First week after adding a new variation, the platform gives you a tiny traffic bump—take advantage of that.
2. Set ROAS low at first. Temu’s ad system charges based on your target ROAS, right? Lower ROAS means lower cost per click, more eyes on your product. Yeah, you might take a small loss early to get momentum, but that’s just how it goes. Don’t expect to profit day one without some upfront cost—ain’t gonna happen.
3. Run ads + promotions together. Temu gives extra visibility to products on deal. A discounted price plus that promotion badge? It helps conversion, even if the ad is the one driving people there.

Oh, and one more thing—Temu’s been cracking down on duplicate listings lately. Don’t just kill a dead listing and make the same product again. If you’re in a category with variations, stick to the method above. Trust me.