Duoduo Maicai, the grocery wing of PDD, has reportedly paused a local in-store merchandising campaign that began in December, Chinese media outlet LatePost reported on Wednesday. Originally set to launch after February’s Lunar New Year, the company postponed the scheme as efforts to seek more local partners offering in-store catering coupons, hotel reservations, sightseeing, and movie tickets appeared to fall short. The scheme, in which customers were encouraged to make advance purchases of discount coupons on Pinduoduo, was suspended in the last week of 2023, the report said. Meituan still dominates the local life sector for now despite new entrant Douyin’s challenge, and Pinduoduo, the online retail platform with loyal consumers primarily in low-tier cities, had been set to focus on cost-sensitive cities where Meituan and Douyin were less dominant. [LatePost, in Chinese]
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