Making Pinduoduo’s US$119 billion business model work in India

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Hi readers,

I recently found out that I’m a shopping enabler. Here’s how to find out if you’re one too: Do you often encourage friends or family members to purchase a product by saying, “Yes, you deserve to treat yourself”?

Because that’s exactly me. A friend would come to me feeling unsure about buying a keycap for US$70 dollars, only to make the purchase after talking to me. And she didn’t buy just one keycap – she snapped up a a couple of them since as a supportive friend, I got a few too to hit that free delivery together.

What I described is basically social commerce, a business model popularized by Pinduoduo in China. And a startup in India is planning to replicate that success.

Today we look at,

• How a startup is bringing Pinduoduo’s model to India
• The Singapore-based startup that’s shining bright (you know, like a diamond)
• Other newsy highlights such as how Pony.ai put its IPO plan on hold and MightyJaxx’s US$10 million investment haul from a Tencent-led round

PREMIUM SUMMARY

Can Pinduoduo’s model work in India? This startup finds out.

Pinduoduo is taking China by storm. In March, the Chinese social commerce major hit 824 million active buyers – that’s 58% of the country’s population. India-based Gobillion wants to take this group-buying model and replicate it in its home market. Can Gobillion make the same splash as Pinduoduo did in China?

• Everything’s better with friends: Gobillion allows users to purchase groceries at a cheaper price when they share the product link and buy the products with their friends or family members. Currently, the startup is targeting the Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns in India.
• Shopaholics, unite: Even though Gobillion was only launched six months ago, the company is on a growth spurt – its customer base increased by 70% month on month. Furthermore, this was achieved purely through word of mouth, according to the founders.
• Competition: Gobillion will be going up against huge competitors including local unicorn Meesho and Shopsy, the social commerce initiative of Walmart-owned Flipkart. However, both these startups operate on a reseller model that is completely different from Gobillion and Pinduoduo.

Read more: The Pinduoduo model takes hold in India

STARTUP SPOTLIGHT

The startup that shines bright like a diamond