Xuan
Zhang.
Temu New User Zone
Project
Overview
Temu's New User Zone was designed to enhance the onboarding experience and improve new user conversion rates through exclusive marketing strategies, such as new user discount coupons and free products. My team was responsible for designing the user flow, landing pages, and promotional touchpoints, ensuring a seamless transition from user acquisition to first purchase.
Challenge
Balancing cost and ROI, ensuring every design and strategy drives higher returns. Optimizing ad spend, pricing strategies, and user acquisition while sustaining conversion and retention.
Achievement
+14% Add-to-Cart Rate, +18% Payment Conversion, +10% New User Traffic
Type
New User Growth & Conversion Optimization
Role
New User Marketing Strategy, Campaign Page Design, In-App Promotion & Landing Page Design
Team
Temu UX Team in Marketing Department
Temu’s Explosive New User Growth Strategy & Design Framework
Breaking Into the U.S. Market
Temu is an online marketplace operated by PDD Holdings (Pinduoduo), one of China’s top three e-commerce giants. In September 2022, Pinduoduo launched Temu in the U.S., applying its proven new user acquisition strategies from the Chinese market. Within less than a month, Temu skyrocketed to #1 on Google Play Store’s download rankings, fueled by aggressive first-time user incentives and hyper-targeted marketing campaigns.
New User Growth & My Role
As part of Temu’s Marketing Department, our team owns new user acquisition and onboarding optimization. My role as a Growth Designer is to engineer high-converting user experiences, ensuring first-time users move seamlessly from ad exposure to first purchase and beyond. We prioritize Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)—calculated as (sales cost + marketing cost) ÷ new customers—because in e-commerce, reducing CAC means more new users, higher revenue, and stronger retention with the same investment.
The Market Funnel Behind Temu’s Growth Design
1. Awareness
We maximize visibility through Google Search Ads, YouTube, Instagram display ads, and influencer campaigns. Major shopping events like Black Friday drive massive traffic and boost brand recognition.
2. Interest
Once users land on Temu, we optimize landing pages, UI design, product images, and pricing to ensure they immediately see the value of shopping with us.
3. Consideration
Exclusive first-time user discounts, free gifts, and flash sales create urgency and drive purchases. Cart abandonment reminders and push notifications bring users back to complete their orders.
4. Purchase
We refine payment UX and checkout flow to ensure a smooth, hassle-free buying experience. A frictionless checkout boosts conversion rates and reduces drop-offs.
5. Retention
Our repeat purchase incentives, referral programs, and post-purchase engagement encourage long-term loyalty and organic growth through word-of-mouth marketing.
Awareness – Capturing Attention & Driving Clicks
Goal: Maximize visibility and encourage users to click on ads by leveraging high-impact visuals and strong CTAs.
Key Strategies:
1. Ad Creatives with Strong Call-to-Action (CTA) Buttons
-
A lot of our external ad banners feature a fake button effect, mimicking a clickable element to encourage interaction.
-
A/B testing showed CTA buttons significantly increased click-through rates (CTR) compared to text-only ads.
2. Multi-Channel Outreach
-
We run targeted campaigns via SMS, email, and social media ads to drive traffic.
-
Major shopping events (e.g., Black Friday, Cyber Monday) feature high-value coupons prominently displayed in ad creatives.
H5
Social Media
EDM
PC
Interest – Creating an Engaging First Impression
Goal: Keep users engaged and encourage further exploration upon landing
Key Strategies:
1. Gamified Welcome Offers (Spin-the-Wheel, Lucky Draws)
-
Instead of a static discount, new users engage with interactive elements like slot machines, spin wheels, and lucky card draws to “win” their first-time coupon. I led the design of a gamified onboarding flow based on user data insights, increasing retention by 20%. My key contribution was conducting A/B testing on different reward mechanisms to identify the most engaging approach
-
This tactic creates anticipation and emotional investment, increasing engagement time.
2. Building Trust & Driving Urgency
-
Countdown timers on exclusive deals and “X people just bought this” notifications help reinforce FOMO (Fear of Missing Out).
-
Trust-Building Elements: Featuring #1 Free App and Nasdaq-listed badges reassures users of Temu’s credibility.
Displaying #1 Free App and Nasdaq-listed badges reinforces trust and credibility.
Countdown
Other Trust Elements
Consideration – Converting Hesitant Users
Goals: Remove hesitation by offering incentives at key decision points.
Key Strategies:
1. First-Order Freebies
We introduced “New User Gift” programs where first-time buyers get a free product with their first order.
In-App Reminder
Pinned Coupon Driving
Higher AOV
Keeping the discount banner visible reminds users of their savings potential, encouraging larger orders to unlock exclusive new user deals.
2. Exit-Intent Popups & Cart Abandonment Nudges
If a user attempts to leave without purchasing, they receive an exclusive last-minute coupon or a reminder of their cart items via popups and push notifications. We design multiple versions of exit popups with different copy, visuals, and incentives to test engagement. A/B testing helps identify the most effective message and offer to retain hesitant users.
3. Highlight Free Shipping & Trust Signals
We highlight free shipping across multiple touchpoints—New User Zone, product pages, cart, checkout, and navigation—to reduce friction and encourage first-time purchases. Additionally, Safe Payment and Order Guarantees are repeatedly reinforced to build trust and increase conversion rates.
Purchase – Smoothing the Checkout Experience
Auto-Redirect to Cart
Once users add items to meet the minimum purchase threshold, a guided banner with a countdown appears, automatically directing them to the cart. This minimizes distractions and reinforces the urgency to complete checkout.
Checkout Button
We tested multiple designs and design for the checkout button to optimize conversion rates. Different wording and design were evaluated through A/B testing to determine which approach led to higher completion rate
Purchase – Smoothing the Checkout Experience
Goals: Turn first-time buyers into repeat customers.
Key Strategies:
1. Post-Purchase Engagement
Users receive personalized product recommendations and VIP offers after their first order.
2. Referral & Loyalty Programs
Incentivizing users to invite friends, earning discounts for both referrer and referee.
Impact:
Boosted repeat purchase rate and increased customer lifetime value (LTV).
Conclusion
Other Strategies to Boost New User Growth
Buy More, Save More
Driving Higher First-Time Order Value
📍 Background
Although the new user discount campaign had a high click-through rate (28.71%), users were not maximizing their discounts, leading to low average order value (AOV) and only 2.32% payment conversion. The goal was to encourage larger first-time purchases through a progressive discount system.
🎯 Key UX Challenges & Solutions
The original homepage popup displayed five discount tiers, which overwhelmed users and reduced engagement. The initial approach of showcasing the highest 70% discount was not effective, as users struggled to understand the progression. To improve clarity, we simplified the structure to three tiers and used a progress bar to display, making the discount system easier to follow. This change resulted in higher user engagement and increased participation in the activity page.
Easy Entry & Engagement
-
New users see a homepage popup highlighting discounts up to 40% OFF, prompting them to explore the offer.
-
Clicking leads to the New User Zone, where a tiered discount (20%, 30%, 40%) is introduced with a sliding animation.
-
On the main event page, users see clear discount thresholds and a guided shopping animation appears after one second, making navigation seamless.
Discount Guidance for Users
-
Guided Shopping Flow: A guided banner prompts users to add items and unlock discounts.
-
CTA Enhancement: A ripple effect on the button directs action, leading users to select products and progress toward their savings goal.
-
Progress Tracker: A visual bar updates as users get closer to unlocking the highest discount.
Animated Discount Progression
-
Animated Add-to-Cart Flow: Items smoothly fly into the cart icon, visually reinforcing progress toward discounts.
-
Tiered Discount Unlock Animation: Users unlock increasing discounts (20%, 3%, 40%) by adding more items.
-
Progress Tracker: A status bar updates dynamically, showing how close users are to the next discount level.
Optimized Checkout for Discount Tiers
-
Real-Time Savings Update: Displays increasing discounts as users add more items.
-
Checkout Prompt at 40% Off: A popup encourages purchase completion.
-
Flexible Actions: Users can continue shopping or proceed to checkout.
-
Clear Refund Policy: Ensures users understand bundled returns.
