Pinduoduo: A close look at the fastest growing app in China

Chinese da ma (literally meaning “big mamas”) are budget-savvy shoppers who are eager to snap up a good deal. They do most of the shopping for the family and know just the place to score bargain prices on everyday items.

But these discounts come with one condition: whip up enough friends on WeChat to order the items in bulk, directly from the manufacturer. After all, the deal is so good that it deserves a spot on everyone’s Moments (the equivalent of Facebook’s news feed).

The place to find these kinds of deals is Pinduoduo, a leading Chinese app for social ecommerce and the fastest growing app in the history of Chinese internet.

Let’s take a close look.

How fast is Pinduoduo growing?

Pinduoduo has seen explosive growth since its launch in 2015, becoming one of the largest ecommerce apps in China.

The shop-with-friends app combines a group-buying strategy with cheap products and social media. It is now the fastest growing ecommerce platform with 13.85 percent YoY growth.

The usage rate of the platform among Chinese internet users has grown from under 2 percent to 19.4 percent over the course of 2018 (this leaves it right behind JD at 20.6 percent, but still far behind Taobao with a 53.3 percent usage rate).

Pinduoduo also benefits from the best retention rate (seven days after installation) from all Chinese ecommerce platforms.

Users changing phones are, however, more likely to install Taobao or JD than Pinduoduo.

Pursuing a significant but often overlooked market

A de facto substitute for Taobao?

Pinduoduo features

Conclusion