Pinduoduo offers uninterrupted grocery services and deliveries during Lunar New Year
February 18 2021 - 8:45AM
Pinduoduo Inc. (“Pinduoduo”)(NASDAQ: PDD) has made it more
convenient for consumers during Lunar New Year, the most important
holiday in China, when most businesses are shut.
Pinduoduo has worked with merchants and logistics providers to
stay open and dispatch orders during the weeklong public holiday,
which began on Feb. 11.
In an industry first, China Post and courier companies like SF
Express, Yunda Express, and J&T, are staying open during this
holiday season, with an estimated million couriers out in force to
deliver parcels. An official with China Post estimates that parcel
volumes during the holiday period would be double that of last
year.
Whereas consumers used to stockpile food and other essential
items in previous years to “get through the new year,” platforms
like Pinduoduo have made it possible for consumers to buy what they
need when they need it by placing their orders through the
smartphone.
This is especially helpful for the millions of consumers who are
choosing to “stay put and celebrate” the holiday to minimize the
risk of spreading the coronavirus. They are buying presents online
and sending them back home. The wide variety of products on
platforms like Pinduoduo also enable these consumers to buy their
hometown delicacies so that they can have a taste of home wherever
they are.
“The Lunar New Year is a time for reunion and in this time when
some of us may have to be apart, we are glad that we can help
families connect and send their love and best wishes,” said Andre
Zhu, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Legal at Pinduoduo.
Consumers have increasingly taken to online shopping to fulfill
their Lunar New Year needs.
Industrywide online retail sales surpassed 510 billion yuan ($79
billion) during the Jan. 20 to Feb. 3 period, Xinhua News Agency
reported, citing preliminary data from the Ministry of Commerce.
Online food and beverage sales were 40% higher than the same
festive period a year ago, when many cities across the country were
undergoing strict Covid-19 lockdowns to stem the spread of the
virus.
So, what are Chinese consumers buying online leading up to the
holiday?
Online sales of regional culinary highlights have surged since
January as consumers stocked up on their hometown specialties,
according to Pinduoduo.
Demand for local delicacies from Sichuan, Hunan, and Henan
provinces was robust. Favorites include Chengdu firm tofu, Hunan
grandma’s dish, Wuhan hot, dry noodles, Liuzhou snail rice noodles,
Guangdong-style sausage, and Ningbo rice cake.
Among the consumers taking advantage of the promotions is Madam
Yang, 54, who is staying in Chongqing with her daughter this year.
Her mother, Madam Liu, 78, is back in their hometown in Wushan.
“I bought many items online and sent it to my mother in her
hometown,” said Madam Yang, who also uses the Pinduoduo app to buy
her groceries, which she picks up downstairs of her apartment.
The “stay-put” New Year is also driving sales of everything from
dumpling makers to books to lipstick as consumers indulged in some
retail therapy.
For those in their 20s, fitness equipment, pet accessories, and
Kindles were among the three favorite purchases during the holiday
season, according to Pinduoduo.
Self-care also ranked high up on the priority list, with strong
sales of skincare and beauty products from lipstick and blusher to
facial epilators.
About Pinduoduo Inc.
Pinduoduo provides an online marketplace that connects
millions of agricultural producers with consumers across China.
Pinduoduo aims to bring more businesses and people into the digital
economy so that local communities can benefit from the increased
productivity and convenience through new market opportunities.
For more information on Pinduoduo news and industry
trends, please visit our content hub
at http://stories.pinduoduo-global.com/.
For media enquiries, please contact us
at internationalmedia@pinduoduo.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/845755df-b64d-495a-b4cc-f86832cbae97
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