Latest news with #unsafeproducts
ABC News
3 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
Temu doubles Australian advertising spend in response to US tariffs
Online shopping platforms based overseas are spending millions of extra dollars on advertising in Australia as they seek to expand their presence outside the US, following the introduction of President Donald Trump's heavy new import tariffs. The change in marketing strategy has caused fears that a new deluge of unsafe products will flood into Australia. Hannah Jacobs-Herd's nine-year-old daughter Daniella sustained severe burns in July last year, after a hoodie purchased on Temu, a Chinese e-commerce company that ships goods directly to buyers from third-party sellers, caught alight. Daniella received severe burns to 13 per cent of her body, including her face, after sparks from a fire pit hit the hoodie and it immediately went up in flames. Ms Jacobs-Herd said after the trauma suffered by her daughter, it was distressing to see a deluge of Temu advertising pop up when she played free games on her tablet computer. Ms Jacobs-Herd said she braced for more advertising from the platform when she heard about Mr Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs targeting China. "I lost it because I knew that we were going to get bombarded," she said. In April this year, Mr Trump signed an executive order restoring an import charge for Chinese goods valued at or under $US800 ($1,224). The move doubled the cost of goods bought through Temu by American consumers, driving the company away from the US to more favourable markets, including Europe and Australia. Goods worth less than $1,000 can generally be imported into Australia free of duties, taxes or charges, meaning retailers do not need to absorb import fees or pass them on to Australian consumers. Sharing data exclusively with the ABC, US market intelligence firm Sensor Tower said Temu had more than doubled its monthly Australian advertising spend from April to June 2025, compared with March. Since Temu's 110 per cent increase in advertising spend, the platform's monthly users have increased by 50 per cent for the June quarter. Shein, another Chinese marketplace app, increased its monthly Australian advertising spend by 160 per cent, for a 15 per cent increase in monthly users. Sensor Tower estimated Temu spent more than $4 million on Australian advertising in January alone, primarily through Facebook and Instagram. Taylor Brydges, a research principal at the University of Technology Sydney's Institute for Sustainable Futures, said the Sensor Tower data was representative of Temu's shift away from the US. Temu did not directly respond to questions from the ABC about its increased advertising spend in Australia. A spokesperson said the company opened the platform to Australian suppliers in March this year to better support them to cater for the local market. Daniella's mother said she was worried more Temu customers would be harmed because of Australia's weak consumer protection laws. "There should be more enforcement around it," Ms Jacobs-Herd said. It is a sentiment echoed by consumer protection advocates. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) recently released a report on its five-year inquiry into digital platforms. The report found Temu had rapidly become Australia's most-used retail marketplace app since launching in the country in March 2023. It noted that, unlike Australia, regions including the European Union, Canada and the US had responded to the growing popularity of online retail platforms like Temu by prohibiting the sale of unsafe goods. Consumer advocacy group Choice has been calling for a similar general safety provision since 2020. Choice deputy director of campaigns Andy Kelly said recent research by the group showed 74 per cent of consumers mistakenly believed businesses were legally required to ensure products were safe before selling them in Australia. In a statement, Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury Andrew Leigh said the government was considering the findings of the ACCC's report, including the recommendation for a proactive general safety provision. "No business should gain a competitive advantage by compromising on safety. Australian consumers deserve to know that online marketplaces value their safety and have taken steps to ensure their products are safe to use," he said. In the meantime, Ms Jacobs-Herd said she worried other families would suffer harm after seeking a bargain. "We're just pretty much like any person who want to buy their child an Oodie but they can't afford it, so they find a knock-off — lots of people do that," she said. Four months after Daniella was burned, Temu issued a voluntary recall notice for the hoodie in consultation with the ACCC. Ms Jacobs-Herd, who lives three hours north of Brisbane in Hervey Bay, is currently engaged in a lawsuit with Temu over the incident. A Temu spokesperson told the ABC the company had banned the merchant involved from selling "children-related products" on its platform globally. The spokesperson said as a third-party marketplace, Temu required all merchants to fully comply with local laws and standards. "We have in place a quality assurance system that includes vetting sellers and product listings, physical spot checks … monitoring using technology and human reviewers, and swift enforcement action," they said. "We are also in discussions with the ACCC about becoming a signatory to the Online Product Safety Pledge."
RNZ News
16-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
More unsafe children's products found at Panda Mart
The Panda Mart store in Christchurch. Photo: Supplied / Vera Jiang The Commerce Commission has identified seven more children's products it considers unsafe as part of its ongoing investigation into bargain store Panda Mart. The items - a baby walker, doll, smartphone toy, fairy cake toy, sunscreen product and two car toys - have been added to a list of 40 children's goods the commission declared to be unsafe in December . Recall notices have been issued for the 47 items sold in Panda Mart's stores in Auckland and Christchurch. The commission has made "legally binding commitments" with Panda Mart for the first time, meaning the outlet needed to halt sales of the products identified or any similar or new products that could be unsafe. "If Panda Mart breaks these commitments, the commission may take court action," a spokesperson from the agency said. "This is to protect consumers while our investigation continues and should reduce the sale of further unsafe goods." Panda Mart products that have been identified as unsafe by the Commerce Commission. Photo: Supplied / Commerce Commission The previous list included 11 kinds of walkers, seven kinds of bikes, various kinds of toys, sunscreen products and hot water bags. The unsafe products were deemed to be non-complaint with the product safety standard or an unsafe goods notice. The commission said Panda Mart stopped the sale of the specific products mentioned in the recall late last year but continued to sell similar products. The 47 products listed on the commission's website were no longer sold by Panda Mart, the commission said. Recall notices on some of these products can be found on the government's Product Safety website , which shows several non-child products were also being recalled, including a gardening tool, an extension cord and three different kinds of table lamps. Vanessa Horne, general manager of competition, fair trading and credit at the commission, said the agency was continuing to investigate the business. "We are actively monitoring this situation and continue to be concerned about the safety of products sold at Panda Mart," Horne said. "One of the commission's enduring priorities is to prioritise product safety issues that are within our regime which have the potential to cause serious harm to consumers, particularly children." Panda Mart has also come to the attention of the Australian government, with a public warning against it being issued in March. Thousands of products, including children's make-up sets, birthday cards, glitter balls and bike helmets, were considered failing to "meet mandatory product safety and information standards, including items that could be dangerous", according to Consumer Affairs Victoria . RNZ has approached Panda Mart for comment.
