Dollar General customers spent more at Temu than DG this quarter

Access chart in Dash.

Dollar General customers who also shop at Temu spent more at Temu than at Dollar General so far in 3Q24, according to Earnest credit card data. Around 10% of Dollar General customers shopped at Temu during the same quarter, up from 0% only two years ago when Temu launched (see data in Dash). This level of disruption is nearly unheard of in retail, with even the fastest growing ecommerce brands like Shein taking years to reach a similar level of penetration. 

There may be signs that Temu’s rise, and disruptive potential is slowing. Earnest credit card data shows 14.4% of Dollar General shoppers transacting at Temu in 3Q23, 5 points higher than in 3Q24. Also the $141 spent by the average Dollar General/Temu overlapping customer at Temu is only slightly higher than the $136 spent at Dollar General. Additionally, Temu’s active customer count fell from January to August, driving a steep slowdown in Temu’s overall US sales growth.