Consumer Staples Author：Yue Liu Editor：Luke Sheehan Oct 20, 2020 06:00 PM (GMT+8)

Pinduoduo is known for dazzling people with hyped or fake labels, but recent data proves that it is trying to change this stereotype.

Image credit: EqualOcean

Data Burning has released its 3Q 2020 report of the Pinduoduo platform. Here we find the distinction between 'explosive' or super-popular products and slower, steadier sellers being an important one among growing e-commerce companies in China.  

A product that reaches a cumulative purchase amount of more than 100,000 is termed as an 'explosive' one. The number of explosive products hit 77,000, five times that of the same period last year. In terms of category structure, fast-moving consumer goods such as apparel, food and beverages and household goods are still the categories that have been purchased in large numbers and are growing rapidly. In terms of pricing, the proportion of goods costing below CNY 20 fell to 72%, a decrease of 8% from the same period last year.

High-growth products: the top three categories are beauty and skincare, personal care and apparel. Among them, Bloomage Biotech's GMV saw the highest growth rate, reaching 267% in 3Q 2020. And the average commodity price is still CNY 10-40.

The GMV of non-explosive products increased by 110% year-on-year. Affected by the epidemic, household appliances and 3C products' GMV accounted for 42% of the total, surpassing the apparel category and ranking first. In July, products above CNY 500 contributed nearly 50% of GMV.

Pinduoduo’s subsidies support mobile phones and electrical products, and those commodities contribute 65% of non-explosive products' GMV. The GMV of products costing CNY 1000-5000 accounted for more than 50%.