Recently the New York Times on-line reported the following:
How E-Commerce Is Making China’s Deflation Worse (1/2)
The push by Pinduoduo to lower prices has helped it
become one of China’s fastest-growing e-commerce apps, and epitomizes a broader
force plaguing the economy.
The NYT Asia Section - By Daisuke Wakabayashi and Claire Fu
Oct. 7, 2024, 12:01 a.m. ET
When Lin Yunyun started selling diapers two years ago on Pinduoduo, China’s fast-growing e-commerce site, she was not prepared for the relentless nagging about prices.
Pinduoduo, popular among Chinese consumers for its discounts, sent “reminders” whenever other sellers dropped their prices below hers. When Ms. Lin cut her prices, the site would temporarily promote her products — only to warn her a few days later that more reductions were needed for the site to continue driving customers to her goods.
No company embodies China’s deflationary moment quite like Pinduoduo. Shoppers flock to the app for its staggering discounts, the result of its unyielding push to lower prices. As the country’s second-largest online retailer, it is the shopping destination of choice for those who embrace so-called downgraded spending — a social-media fueled maxim of Chinese consumers’ penny-pinching ways.
After a series of half-measures that have failed to reinvigorate the economy, Beijing has finally signaled that it is ready to take more aggressive action, although it’s unclear how far it is willing to go. Late last month, the government announced interest rate cuts and other initiatives to revive the property market, as well as steps to prop up stock markets.
And despite hints of additional fiscal spending to put more money into the hands of Chinese consumers, the government has not revealed any specific plans. Rhodium Group, a research firm, said in a note that policymakers had demonstrated more willingness to act on the economy, but deflationary pressures were among several important issues that remained unresolved.
China’s gross domestic product deflator, an economic indicator that measures prices broadly across the economy, has contracted for five straight quarters, the longest downturn in a quarter century. Ultimately, this means that the economy may not be growing as fast as the main G.D.P. figure — targeted by Beijing to increase by about five percent this year — would suggest.
The government had directed most of its policy focus on supporting production and investment. While this has kept Chinese factories humming, it has left the country and its global trading partners awash in excess goods. An abundance of supply is helping to keep prices low.
And that’s where Pinduoduo comes in. Because a growing portion of spending in China is happening online, the price reductions by the app and other e-commerce platforms copying its success have contributed to a deflationary downturn. About 60 percent of the country’s consumers buy through e-commerce, accounting for more than one-third of all retail spending, according to HSBC.
“Pinduoduo is both the consequence and cause of deflation,” said Donald Low, a professor of practice in public policy at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
Founded in 2015, Pinduoduo has grown more quickly than its more established rivals, recently expanding abroad with its Temu brand. In its most recent quarter, Pinduoduo said revenue had risen 86 percent. It warned, however, that future profits might take a hit because it planned to invest heavily to support “high-quality” merchants.
Colin Huang, Pinduoduo’s founder and one of China’s richest men, has said that one of the company’s core values is not to sell cheap products, but to offer goods that customers will feel are less expensive than they should be.
Earlier this year, Ms. Lin, the seller in Zhangzhou, said Pinduoduo had enrolled her in an “automated price tracking system” to allow the company to lower the price of her diapers whenever it detected similar products available for less. A few months after she opted out of the program, she discovered that the setting had been turned on again.
Pinduoduo, which did not respond to requests for comment for this article, has said that this feature helps to improve the “operating efficiency” of merchants, while providing customers with more competitively priced products.
(to be continued)
Translation
電子商務如何加劇中國的通貨緊縮
(1/2)
拼多多推動降價已使其成為中國成長最快的電子商務應用程式之一，也是困擾經濟的更廣泛力量的縮影。
兩年前，當Lin Yunyun開始在中國快速發展的電子商務網站拼多多上銷售尿布時，她並沒有準備好面對令人心煩不已的價格問題。
因折扣而深受中國消費者歡迎的拼多多，只要其他賣家的價格低於她的價格，就會發出「提醒」。當Lin女士降價時，該網站會暫時促銷她的產品，但幾天後警告她，該網站需要進一步降價，才能繼續吸引顧客購買她的商品。
28歲的Lin女士說: 「平台一直提醒我減價」，她住在中國東南部城市漳州。 「如果我再減價，我就賺不到錢了」。
沒有一家公司能像拼多多那樣體現中國的通貨緊縮時刻。購物者湧向該公司應用程式是因為其驚人的折扣，這是該應用程式不屈不撓地推動降價的結果。作為中國第二大線上零售商，它是那些接受所謂降級消費的人的首選購物目的地 - 這是社交媒體助長的中國消費者不願意花錢行為的座右銘。
由於擔心尚未有曙光的房地產危機，加上步履蹣跚的勞動市場，中國消費者正在減少支出，增加儲蓄。價格不斷下跌，利潤不斷縮水。公司對於僱用更多工人或投資未來猶豫不決，加劇了人們對經濟的更多擔憂。
在採取了一系列未能重振經濟的不徹底的措施後，北京終於表示準備採取更積極的行動，儘管目前尚不清楚願意採取何種行動。上個月末，政府宣布了降息和其他重振房地產市場的舉措，以及提振股市的措施。
儘管有跡象顯示政府將增加財政支出，並將更多資金送到中國消費者手中，但它尚未透露任何具體計畫。研究公司Rhodium集團在報告中表示，政策制定者表現出了對經濟採取行動的更大意願，但通貨緊縮壓力是仍未解決的幾個重要問題之一。
中國的國內生產毛額平減指數（廣泛衡量整個經濟體價格的經濟指標）已連續五個季度萎縮，是四分之一個世紀以來持續時間最長的衰退。最終，這意味著經濟成長速度可能不如主要
GDP 成長速度所暗示 - 北京的目標是今年增加約 5%。
政府將大部分政策重點放在支持生產和投資。雖然這讓中國工廠保持運轉，但也導致該國及其全球貿易夥伴商品過剩。大量的供應令價格處於低位。
這就是拼多多的用武之地。 由于中國在線上的消費在增長中，拼多多應用程序及複製它的成功的其他電子商務平台一起導致通縮衰退。 根據滙豐銀行的數據，該国約60%嘅消費者透過電子商務購物，佔所有零售支出三分一以上。
香港科技大學公共政策實踐教授Donald Low表示:「拼多多既是通貨緊縮的結果，也是原因」。
拼多多成立於 2015 年，其發展速度比其他老牌競爭對手更快，最近還憑藉 Temu 品牌向海外擴張。拼多多表示，最近一個季度的營收成長了 86%。不過，該公司警告稱，由於計劃大力投資支持「優質」商戶，未來利潤可能會受到打擊。
拼多多創辦人、中國首富之一Colin Huang曾表示，公司的核心價值之一不是銷售廉價產品，而是提供讓顧客感覺商品比它應該的價格便宜。
今年早些時候，漳州賣家Lin女士表示，拼多多已為她註冊了一個“自動價格追蹤系統”，一旦發現類似產品價格更低，該公司就可以降低她尿布的價格。在她選擇退出該計劃幾個月後，她發現該設定又被重新開啟。
拼多多沒有回應本文的置評請求，但表示這項功能有助於提高商家的“營運效率”，同時為客戶提供價格更具競爭力的貨品。
（待續）
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