Tariffs forced Temu to slash its U.S. ad spend on nearly every platform

It wasn’t alone. 

Between January to May this year, Temu also reduced spend on YouTube (by 74%), TikTok (by 74%), Snapchat (by 46%) and Instagram (by 10%), per Sensor Tower. And while no exact figures were provided, the market intelligence firm indicated that during the same period a year ago the platform’s baseline spend across X, Instagram, Snap and TikTok was eight figures, while YouTube’s was seven. 

Temu’s revised budget wasn’t all redistributed either. Temu’s U.S. ad spend allocation across X, YouTube, TikTok and Snap between January to May 2026 was down, year-over-year. X’s allocation reduced from 8% in 2025 to less than 1% this year, YouTube retained just 1% (down from 3% allocation in 2025), TikTok’s allocation reduced from 6% last year to 2% in 2026, and Snap was down to 5% this year from 8% last year. 

Sensor Tower identified a correlation between the U.S. tariffs and the ending of the U.S. “de minimis” rule, — which has historically allowed cheap imports under $800 to avoid duties and full customs checks when entering the country — with the timeline of these reductions.

“Temu initially shut down much of its spending in the U.S. before resuming advertising last summer, albeit at a more muted pace, and its U.S. strategy has shifted from upper-funnel brand awareness and customer acquisition at any cost,” said eMarketer’s principal analyst, retail and e-commerce, Sky Canaves.

Not every platform felt the pull back.

Temu grew its U.S. ad spend on Pinterest by 66% in the seven figure range between January and May 2026. In fact, Pinterest now equates to 12% of Temu’s total U.S. ad spend budget, double the same amount spent on the platform last year. The shift suggests Temu is prioritizing Pinterest’s higher-intent, lower funnel shopping environment, where users are actively searching and saving product ideas, making it more efficient for driving conversion, compared with more entertainment-led platforms. And the fact that the majority (80%) of Pinterest’s users are outside of the U.S., per the platform’s own earnings figures, is likely helpful.

Digging deeper, Sensor Tower found that most (75%) of Temu’s U.S. ad spend during the first five months of 2026 was allocated to Meta, of which 59% of budget was spent on Facebook, and 16% on Instagram.

Despite the steep cuts on advertising across most platforms, Temu’s user base hasn’t suffered.

Between January to May 2026, Temu’s U.S. downloads have held steady, between 5.5 million and 6.8 million on average every month, according to data from Apptopia, broadly in line with the recovery immediately after the U.S. tariffs came into effect and “de minimis” rule ending. And Sensor Tower backed this up, confirming that the retailer’s U.S. monthly active users rose 21% year-over-year between January and May 2026.

“Temu’s strategy is transitioning to focus more on efficiency and user retention through platforms that offer a balance of targeting and price performance,” said Claire Holubowskyj, senior research analyst at Enders Analysis. “Realigning their advertising strategy towards incremental sales reflects their growing platform maturity and the lower impact of tariff price barriers on consumers already bought into the broader platform experience.”

Temu did not respond to Digiday’s request for comment.