The "right things" that Pinduoduo has been committed to for the past decade hold the answers for the next decade.

If judged solely by the growth rate, Pinduoduo's latest financial report performance hardly seems impressive.

On November 18, Pinduoduo released its financial report for the third quarter of 2025, ending September 30. The data shows that Pinduoduo's revenue for this quarter was 108.3 billion yuan, a 9% increase from 99.35 billion yuan in the same period last year. At first glance, the growth rate rebounded compared to the previous quarter, but it is no longer comparable to its past growth performance.

Breaking down the revenue, the revenue from online marketing services and other sources was 53.3 billion yuan, an 8% increase from 49.4 billion yuan in the same period of 2024; the revenue from transaction services was 54.9 billion yuan, a 10% increase from 50 billion yuan in the same period of 2024.

Affected by heavy investments such as the "100-billion support" initiative, the growth rate of Pinduoduo's advertising revenue has significantly slowed down to single digits, hitting the lowest record in the company's history. The decline in the overall monetization rate has directly dragged down the performance this quarter.

The year 2025 holds special significance for Pinduoduo as it marks the tenth anniversary of its founding. From entering the e-commerce market with the "group-buying" model in 2015 to becoming an important player in the industry today, Pinduoduo has completed a crucial leap from a startup to a new e-commerce platform in a decade.

What has been accumulated over the decade of growth is not only scale and volume but also a profound transformation of the company's role. Pinduoduo has grown from a tender seedling breaking through the ground to a towering tree that can shelter thousands of merchants from wind and rain.

Since 2025, Pinduoduo has taken the lead in the e-commerce industry by launching a "100-billion level" initiative to support merchants and agriculture. This substantial investment is not a momentary impulse but an inevitable choice of responsibility after a decade of development.

At the earnings conference call, Chen Lei, Chairman and Co-CEO of Pinduoduo Group, said, "Compared with ten years ago, we have grown larger in scale, so we must shoulder greater social responsibilities. The interests of the public and the ecological construction of the platform will be the primary considerations for future development. We will continue to focus on our long-term mission of creating value for users and invest in more strategic projects like the '100-billion support' initiative that benefit both the supply and demand sides, so as to give back to the industry and society with greater responsibility."

In the third quarter, this "100-billion support" plan has entered its second consecutive quarter of investment. Real money subsidies have continuously flowed to both the supply and demand sides, relieving the burden on small and medium-sized merchants and opening up channels for agricultural products to reach the market.

Finding a dynamic balance between short-term stable performance and long-term ecological construction is the key decision for Pinduoduo at its tenth anniversary. Compared with the temporarily fluctuating figures in the financial report, the logical transformation from "scale expansion" to "industry empowerment" and the awakening of awareness from "business growth" to "social responsibility" behind it are more worthy of in-depth attention from the market.

After all, for a company that has been in business for ten years, real growth is never just a pile of ever-rising figures but finding a long-term path for symbiotic development with the industry and society in the waves of the times.

Never Stop Doing the Right Thing

In 1966, management expert Peter Drucker put forward a management concept that has been widely spread to this day in his book The Effective Executive: Do the right things and do things right.

"Do the right things" emphasizes that an organization should be oriented towards creating value for customers and society, while "do things right" focuses on execution efficiency, ensuring that methods comply with principles.

"Do the right things" means rejecting many temptations, and "do things right" means paying attention to details. And doing the right things is far more important than doing things right.

Pinduoduo's ten-year development is a concrete manifestation of this statement in an enterprise.

First of all, it has remained focused on the e-commerce direction for ten years without deviation. No matter how the trends outside, such as food delivery and AI, have changed, they have nothing to do with it. This perseverance in the core track is the underlying logic of "doing the right things."

Secondly, it persists in surviving by creating value for the vast majority of users. In the first letter to shareholders issued when it went public in 2018, Pinduoduo said, "As a growing institution, Pinduoduo will never stop doing the right thing, never stop creating value for the vast majority of the people, and never stop the pursuit of promoting a happier life."

Over the decade of development, it has created an inclusive and high - quality e - commerce platform. From meeting the basic need of "being able to buy" to pursuing the quality experience of "buying well and worry - free," it has satisfied the consumption upgrade of users from "cost - performance" to "quality - cost ratio." Pinduoduo has always taken user value as the anchor point and implemented the concept of "doing the right things" in every consumption scenario.

Now, at the crucial tenth - anniversary node, Pinduoduo has chosen to give back to merchants and the industry through the "100 - billion support" plan. Even if its short - term performance is under pressure, it still adheres to the long - termism of "ecological win - win." This is a profound annotation of "doing the right thing is far more important than doing things right."

In the manufacturing industry, the "new - quality supply" special action under the "100 - billion support" initiative is promoting many industrial clusters across the country to break out of the trap of "homogeneous competition and OEM dependence" and transform towards "independent brand building and high - value creation," rewriting the long - standing situation of Chinese manufacturing at the bottom of the "smile curve."

The transformation of the schoolbag industrial cluster in Shaodong, Hunan is highly representative. As the largest schoolbag production base in China, Shaodong accounts for more than 70% of the national production capacity of student schoolbags. However, most enterprises mainly engage in OEM production and are deeply trapped in the dilemma of homogenization. With Pinduoduo's support, local merchants in Shaodong rely on the consumption data insights accumulated on the platform to accurately capture the pain points of market demand and promote product innovation and upgrading. A number of original popular brands have emerged one after another. This transformation practice has promoted a leap - forward improvement in the industrial level of Shaodong from an "OEM hinterland" to a "brand high - ground."

The transformation of the down - feather industrial cluster in Pinghu, Zhejiang is also remarkable. As the largest down - feather product production base in China, Pinghu's down - jacket shipments exceeded 300 million pieces in 2024, with an output value exceeding 50 billion yuan. However, Pinghu has long been an OEM for international fast - fashion brands, and the problem of "high production capacity and low profit" is prominent. The emergence of Pinduoduo has enabled local merchants to catch up with the platform's explosive growth period. From 2021 to 2024, the annual sales of Aipunuosi, a local brand in Pinghu, on Pinduoduo increased rapidly from 10 million, 20 million, 30 million to 47 million yuan.

Data shows that in 2024, the online sales of Pinghu down - jackets increased by more than 300% year - on - year, and online sales have become the main driving force for industrial growth. From mainly engaging in OEM production in the past to creating its own brands now, Pinghu's down - jacket industry has completed its first leap in the industry.

Not only the luggage industry in Shaodong and the down - feather industry in Pinghu, but also in the third quarter of this year, Pinduoduo's "new - quality supply" special team has successively visited dozens of industrial clusters such as snack food in Huizhou, children's clothing in Foshan, and Hanfu in Cao County. With the help of the platform's digital capabilities, through measures of "reduction and support," it continues to improve the quality and efficiency of merchants, promote "progressive innovation" in all aspects of the supply chain such as commodities and raw materials, and actively solve the industrial problem of homogeneous competition.

At the end of September, Pinduoduo released the One - Year Development Report on New - Quality Supply. The report shows that the number of merchants in the platform's industrial clusters has increased rapidly. The number of post - 1995 merchants has increased by 31% year - on - year, the number of post - 2000 merchants has increased by 44% year - on - year, the number of high - quality product SKUs has increased by more than 50% year - on - year, and the number of brand stores in the industrial clusters has also increased significantly. Each industrial cluster is gradually moving towards high - quality development.

Chen Lei said that looking forward from the tenth - anniversary node, we will continue to focus on pursuing internal value and long - term vision, never stop doing the right thing, and continue to create value for the vast majority of users.

At present, when the traffic dividend has reached its peak and industry competition has intensified, many enterprises are caught in the anxiety of "growing for the sake of growth," busy chasing various new concepts and new tracks, but ignoring the essence of business, which is to create value.

For Pinduoduo, which has been in business for ten years, "doing the right things" is the strategic determination to anchor user and industry value, "doing things right" is the execution ability of excellence, and the awareness of always prioritizing the former between the two may be the core code for it to grow from a startup to a key force in the industry in a decade.

When the e - commerce industry enters a new stage of higher - quality development, "doing the right things" will also be Pinduoduo's most important confidence to cross the cycle and achieve the next decade's leap.

Deeply Cultivate the Path of Origin

Agriculture is the foundation of Pinduoduo, the path it always looks back on.

In the e - commerce industry where traffic anxiety is widespread, Pinduoduo has chosen to invest real money in the most down - to - earth agricultural track. Since this year, initiatives such as "Duoduo Good Specialties" and "E - commerce Going West" have been successively implemented. From the fertile waterside areas of Jingzhou, Hubei to the pear orchards of Laiyang, Shandong, from the plain granaries of Shangqiu, Henan to the lemon - growing areas of Anyue, Sichuan, customized empowerment programs have enabled agricultural production areas to bid farewell to the old model of "large - scale extensive planting" and move towards a new stage of "quality - oriented and precise development."

During the harvest season in September, with the dual support of 1 billion yuan in subsidies and 2 billion yuan in traffic resource packages, and the participation of 300,000 agricultural product merchants in the "Duoduo Harvest Pavilion," a "high - speed channel" for agricultural products to leave the villages and enter the cities has been established, so that a good harvest is no longer a worry, and good products can fetch good prices.

The core of this support is to use digital power to solve the pain points of traditional agriculture. In Laiyang, Shandong, apples that were once unsalable due to a decline in exports have now opened up new sales channels through "Duoduo Live." The cumulative sales of a single store have exceeded 1.6 million orders. More importantly, the platform has promoted the unified management of scattered orchards of farmers. Standardized transformation has ensured the stable quality of agricultural products and enabled farmers' incomes to be less affected by natural conditions.

This change is not accidental. According to the Half - Year Report on the Upward Movement of Agricultural Products in 2025 released by Pinduoduo, the sales volume of agricultural products on the platform increased by 47% year - on - year in the first half of the year, and the growth rate of post - 2000 agricultural product merchants exceeded 30%. The influx of young forces and the empowerment of digital tools are reshaping the production and circulation logic of agriculture. When farmers learn to use data to understand market demand and agricultural products reach consumers directly through live - streaming, traditional agriculture gains the resilience to resist risks and the motivation to enter the market.

If support is "blood transfusion," then investment in scientific research is "blood - making" for agriculture.

As a new e - commerce platform that started with agricultural products, Pinduoduo has never stopped exploring the in - depth integration of digital technology and traditional agriculture. From the "Duoduo Agricultural Research Competition" to the "Science and Technology Small Courtyard Competition" and then to the "Global Agricultural Entrepreneurs Competition," the innovative technologies born in the laboratory are gradually making their way to the fields, transforming agriculture from "experience - based planting" to "science - based planting."

This continuous investment in agricultural scientific research reflects the platform's clear understanding: the modernization of agriculture not only requires empowerment in the circulation link but also the drive of technological innovation. Only by rooting science and technology in the land can the long - term value of agriculture be truly activated.

Deeply cultivating agriculture is never a "slow - moving business" but a "long - term value" business, which is related to the livelihoods of thousands of families. Pinduoduo's 100 - billion support is essentially a “return to value”: to enable agriculture to receive due respect and rewards, to allow farmers to share the dividends of industrial upgrading, and to make digital technology a solid support for rural revitalization.

Starting from the path of origin, Pinduoduo has proved with ten - year perseverance that agriculture is not a "supplementary track" for e - commerce platforms but a "core battlefield" worthy of all - out efforts. This 100 - billion - level agricultural support practice not only promotes the transformation of agricultural production areas from "growing well" to "selling well" and "living well" but also interprets the social responsibility and long - termism of an enterprise: do the right thing without worrying about short - term gains; cultivate the land well, and there will be a harvest in the end.

The New Decade Has Arrived

Looking back at the tenth - anniversary node of its founding, Pinduoduo's growth trajectory is clear and powerful.

For this company that has always taken "creating value" as its core, the tenth anniversary is not the end of a successful journey but a new starting point to set sail on a more ambitious journey with social responsibility as the sail.

If the keyword for Pinduoduo in the past decade was "breakthrough" - breaking through the pattern of traditional e - commerce, breaking through the information barrier between the supply and demand sides, and breaking through the consumption boundary of county - level markets, then the core proposition for the next decade has been upgraded to "responsibility."

This responsibility is no longer limited to the growth of transaction scale and the expansion of user numbers but extends to the empowerment of industrial upgrading and the creation of social value.

When it has reached a new height in scale and its influence has spread to all aspects of the industrial chain, Pinduoduo has actively stepped out of the "scale anxiety" and "profit confusion" and begun to think more deeply about the ultimate answer "beyond scale and beyond profit."

This thinking has been translated into practical measures such as the "10 - billion reduction" to relieve the burden on merchants, the digital bridge of "E - commerce Going West" extending to remote production areas, and the firm investment of the "100 - billion support" to give back to the industry.

From benefiting users to empowering merchants, from activating agricultural production areas to promoting the upgrading of the manufacturing industry, Pinduoduo has proved with real - money investment that the maturity of an enterprise lies not only in the growth of its scale but also in its clear awareness and active practice of social responsibility.

The repeated emphasis of the two CEOs on "putting social responsibility first" is by no means an empty slogan but the core logic running through the platform's strategic transformation. In the past decade, Pinduoduo has proved the power of "doing the right thing