Corrections & Clarifications: An earlier version of this story misstated how much lower Amazon's prices are on average according to an independent study. The figure is 14%.  

Consumers shopping on Amazon and low-cost retailer Temu are often comparing goods between the two online sellers, but price seems to win out, a new study and survey has found.

While only 5% of survey respondents said they trusted Temu, 53% of the consumers still said they shopped at the China-based retailer in the last year, the survey and study by Omnisend, an e-commerce marketing platform company, said. USA TODAY was given an exclusive first look at the research.

By comparison, 87% of respondents said they trusted Amazon, with 75% saying they shopped on the platform in the last year and 18% saying they shopped there more than once a week.

The study found that consumers could save 40% more (or $13.37 per product) by shopping at Temu rather than Amazon, but that new U.S. tariffs and potential price increases will affect consumers' behavior.

Consumers worried about tariff pricing increases

While consumers said they were expecting prices to go up based on tariffs imposed on foreign goods by the U.S., a surprising number, or 20% of survey respondents said they would continue shopping at Chinese marketplaces like Temu if prices increased, said Greg Zakowicz Sr., e-commerce expert at Omnisend. Twenty-nine percent said they'd immediately stop buying or buy less, and 20% said they'd stop if the increase is noticeable.

About 40% of survey respondents also said they'd be willing to pay more for U.S.-made goods. That surprised Zakowicz.

Zakowicz said his company has been following consumer behavior "and consumers are very much value-minded," he said, adding it's hard to believe that consumers would suddenly be willing to pay more.

He believes there's a dichotomy between what consumers say they're going to do and ultimately how they actually react.

Consumers are willing to 'trade down' for price

Zakowicz said the survey did not specifically ask respondents about their feelings about product quality, but did ask about how much they trusted products.

Customers may say they lack trust in Temu products, but they seem willing to "trade down" because the price is so low, he said.

The survey also showed that 77% of Amazon products have a similar counterpart on Temu, with every 10th item being identical. But many Temu products appear to be knockoffs with manipulated reviews. During a two-month review of both sites, Omnisend researchers "observed disappearing reviews and instances of poorly reviewed products being removed and reuploaded, suggesting potential review manipulation."

The survey also said that 24% of Americans have shopped on Amazon Haul, the retailer's niche site for lower-cost products that take longer to ship from China.

Temu, Amazon respond to survey, study

In a statement responding to the survey and study, Temu said "the survey results confirm what millions of shoppers already know ‒ Temu offers substantial savings on the same or similar products sold elsewhere by cutting out unnecessary middlemen markups and costs."

The retailer also said "as a young platform that’s just two years old, we know trust is built over time. The number of new and returning customers reflects the value they find in our platform. We’ll continue working to improve every part of the experience."

Temu said it did not allow counterfeit products on its platform and "all reviews come from verified Temu verified purchases."

Temu also said it does not take down product listings because they have negative reviews, or delete critical reviews.

"Reviews do not factor into deactivation of a product listing. Negative reviews are retained as long as they align with our Review and Community Guidelines. Even in cases where a product listing is temporarily deactivated and later relisted, all reviews remain visible and unchanged," Temu said.

Also in a written statement, an Amazon spokesperson responded specifically to the survey claim that 77% of Amazon products have a similar product on Temu, with every 10th being identical.

"Amazon works hard every day to offer low prices in our store across our wide selection of products. We asked to see specific and pertinent details required to investigate the claims and were denied the opportunity to do so. We believe this report may be misleading and inaccurate because often studies compare similar but not identical items (i.e., different brands, product sizes, product assortments)," a spokesperson said.

Amazon also said an independent study from Profitero found Amazon's online prices to be the lowest among all major U.S. retailers for eight years in a row, with prices that were an average of 14% less than competitors' in 2024.

This story has been updated to add new information.  

Betty Lin-Fisher is a consumer reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at blinfisher@USATODAY.com or follow her on X, Facebook, or Instagram @blinfisher. Sign up for our free The Daily Money newsletter, which will include consumer news on Fridays, here.