Wish

American marketplace for ultra-cheap goods shipped direct from China, once among the most downloaded shopping apps in the world.
12 figures on Wish, drawn from 2 Modern MBA case studies.
The figures
US dollars1
| Against its own chart | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating income of the largest data-driven consumer marketplaces, 2016, in millions | −$147M | 5th of 7 · top $84M | Why AI is just big data again |
Percentages11
| Against its own chart | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales and marketing as a percentage of total revenue · 2017 | 96% | 1st of 3 · top 96% | Why Temu and Wish can't make money |
| Sales and marketing as a percentage of total revenue · 2019 | 91% | 2nd of 3 · top 96% | Why Temu and Wish can't make money |
| Sales and marketing as a percentage of total revenue · 2018 | 90% | 3rd of 3 · top 96% | Why Temu and Wish can't make money |
| Gross profit margin · 2017 | 84% | 1st of 7 · top 84% | Why Temu and Wish can't make money |
| Gross profit margin · 2018 | 81% | 2nd of 7 · top 84% | Why Temu and Wish can't make money |
| Gross profit margin · 2016 | 77% | 3rd of 7 · top 84% | Why Temu and Wish can't make money |
| Gross profit margin · 2019 | 71% | 4th of 7 · top 84% | Why Temu and Wish can't make money |
| Gross profit margin · 2020 | 63% | 5th of 7 · top 84% | Why Temu and Wish can't make money |
| Gross profit margin · 2021 | 53% | 6th of 7 · top 84% | Why Temu and Wish can't make money |
| Gross profit margin · 2022 | 29% | 7th of 7 · top 84% | Why Temu and Wish can't make money |
| Gross margins of platforms against brands and manufacturers | 29% | 8th of 8 · top 82% | Why Temu and Wish can't make money |
Case studies covering Wish
Case study — TechnologyWhy Temu and Wish can't make moneyWish spent 90 cents of every revenue dollar on ads to buy customers worth $10. AliExpress never profited either. Temu is next.15 min read
Case study — TechnologyWhy AI is just big data againBig data was sold for a decade and produced nothing. The same players are running the identical playbook with AI.15 min readNew episodes
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