Is your mom a 'Temu victim?'

• Temu, the shopping app, is beloved by boomers and Gen Xers. 
• The young adult children of these Temu shoppers are posting about their moms being "Temu victims."
• Hey, not nice.

We know several things to be true about Temu, the Chinese-owned e-commerce app:

• It's pronounced teh-moo, not tee-moo.

• It ran multiple (not very good) ads during the Super Bowl.

• It sells very cheap things.

• The stuff is cheap, but (according to what more than 100-plus boomer Temu shoppers told me) the quality can be surprisingly decent.

• A research report revealed that the most loyal customers on Temu were people age 59 and up — followed closely by Gen Xers 43 and older.

So we know that older shoppers love Temu, and they love the fun, whimsical, and cheap household items it sells — wall art, shower curtains, kitchen items, etc.

One Gen X Temu shopper told me he likes Temu because it reminds him of the stuff he's seen on late-night infomercials.

Another boomer told me that Temu fills the hole left behind from the closure of Bed Bath & Beyond, where, in the checkout line, she'd find all sorts of gadgets that she didn't know existed.

Here's the flip side of this: The children, often Gen Z young adults, of those Gen X or boomer shoppers, are making fun of them for being "Temu victims."

In Dwell, Steffi Cao reports on the trend of young people on TikTok and social media poking fun at Temu-loving moms:

It’s not a coincidence that many "Temu victims" are mothers, if the internet is any indication. Temu has been spending billions in an effort to establish its footprint on the market — according to The Wall Street Journal, the app was the fifth-biggest digital advertising spender in the final three months of 2023 — and moms in particular have long been a crucial audience for retailers. 

In the eyes of young people, the decor and shopping habits of older people are always going to be a little cringe. (Think of the '90s rooster kitchen decor or the late '00s "Live. Laugh. Love." aesthetic).

I say: Let the moms (and dads and grandparents) enjoy their Temu. At least it's not Stanley cup drama.