JD Launches Jingxi to Compete With Pinduoduo in Lower-Tier Cities
China’s second-largest online retailer has developed its own discounter platform to rival Alibaba and Pinduoduo in lower-tier cities.
JD.com Inc. (Nasdaq: JD) officially launched its social e-commerce platform "Jingxi" this week, rivaling Pinduoduo Inc. (Nasdaq: PDD) and Juhuasuan backed by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE: BABA).
Jingxi targets users in small and medium-sized cities in China and provides discounts on team purchases, sharing the model with Pinduoduo and Juhuansuan. Buyers who share product information on popular social networks and invite friends, family and social contacts to purchase together get rewards and discounts.
"We're going to diversify and enrich our WeChat ecosystem and provide a new model to attract lower-tier cities, especially the female users and low-income users," Lei Xu, the chief executive officer of JD Retail, said in a conference call in August.
"We'll continue to enhance our user experiences and also gain more potential customers from third to six-tier cities," Richard Liu, the chairman and chief executive officer of JD.com, has said.
The launch of Jingxi marks an aggressive push of China's second-largest online retailer to increase its share of the consumer market.
Shares in JD.com closed at $30.94 per American depositary share on Friday, level with yesterday's close.
