Advertisement

Pinduoduo founder says latest results prove its e-commerce platform isn’t just for cheapskates

  • Shanghai-based company posts 169 per cent increase in revenue, while narrowing losses in the second quarter

Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
E-commerce company Pinduoduo posted total revenue of 7.3 billion yuan in the quarter ended June 30, up from 2.7 billion yuan a year earlier. Photo: SCMP

Pinduoduo, a Chinese e-commerce platform that is seeking to dispel an association with price-sensitive customers, said it gained more customers from the nation’s most developed cities, a feat that would bolster its challenge against more established rivals Alibaba Group Holding and JD.com.

Advertisement
Orders from the most developed cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou, accounted for 48 per cent of the total value ordered through Pinduoduo’s e-commerce platform in June, up from 37 per cent in January, according to company founder Colin Huang Zheng in a conference call before the US market opened on Wednesday.

“When we were listed a year ago and unfamiliar to most people, despite our consistent messaging, some competitors tried to frame us as a platform that would only attract price-sensitive users in lower tier cities, and that our products are cheap because they are low quality or even knock-offs,” said Huang, who is also chairman and chief executive. “Today, our results have firmly demonstrated otherwise.”

The latest estimates by Pinduoduo may reinforce its efforts to challenge what it described as “forced exclusivity” in the e-commerce market, where merchants and customers are constrained to a certain platform or choice of payment method.

In April, Huang called for more open competition that would benefit both merchants and consumers. Shanghai-based Pinduoduo has provided alternatives in term of its logistics waybill systems, cloud computing services and payment system.

Advertisement

Pinduoduo has accused its larger e-commerce rivals of freezing out upstarts through their dominance in various industries.

Advertisement