What’s new: Pinduoduo Inc.’s revenue rose 89% in the third quarter, boosted by a 50% increase in average monthly active users as consumers continue to shop online in post-pandemic China.
The five-year-old Shanghai-based e-commerce company reported sales of 14.2 billion yuan ($2.14 billion) in the September quarter, beating the 12.2 billion yuan average of estimates by analysts. The net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders narrowed to 784.7 million yuan from 2.3 billion yuan a year earlier.
Pinduoduo Chief Executive Officer Chen Lei said the company noticed that consumer habits of grocery shopping are shifting post-pandemic, resulting in a surge in orders for agricultural products.
The company generated 136 billion yuan of gross merchandise value in the agricultural product category in 2019 and expects it to hit 250 billion yuan this year, Chen said.
The background: By targeting less-affluent consumers in smaller cities with generic products at extremely low prices, Pinduoduo is aggressively challenging Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s market-leader position.
In the third quarter, Pinduoduo claimed 643.4 million average monthly active users, closing the gap with Alibaba’s 757 million users built up over two decades in business.
Contact reporter Denise Jia (huijuanjia@caixin.com) and editor Bob Simison (bobsimison@caixin.com).
Related: In Depth: Alibaba and Pinduoduo Slug It Out for Dominance of China’s Online Bargain Basement
