The e-commerce competition in the United States will soon get a bit tougher.
As Bloomberg reports, the Chinese e-commerce platform Pinduoduo is making plans to enter the North American market as its first cross-border move.
Pinduoduo is facing increased competition in a time of challenging economy in its native country and reportedly believes the U.S. can open some “new growth avenues.” While the news is yet to be made public, the company is already preparing its merchants for the move.
Beijing-based media outlet Pandaily also reports that Pinduoduo is expected to launch its mobile app in the U.S. as soon as September. Sources close to the situation say that the e-commerce business will be aggressive in hunting new merchants with offers of “free entry and zero-commission fee support.”
There are several reasons why Pinduoduo chose the United States for its first venture outside China. The company took notice of the successful transition of its rivals AliExpress and Shein and believes the e-commerce potential of the U.S. remains largely untapped. Also, the competition in China is getting fiercer by day and the cross-border move represents a perfect opportunity to put into use an already existing infrastructure.
Pinduoduo made its name thanks to its focus on grocery products and innovative features like discount hunting. It is predicted to have around 13% of online retail in China and around 800 million active users.