Community group buying is the hottest story in e-commerce. Major tech companies are pushing hard into the industry, with Alibaba alone backing five such platforms (in Chinese).

Most recently, Alibaba led a $750 million investment round for grocery app Nice Tuan on March 31. Pinduoduo founder and CEO Colin Huang said he is ready to go all in on March 11, and Meituan chairman Wang Xing named Meituan Select, its community group buying platform, as the company’s top priority in an earnings call on March 26.

But with a dip in sales after the group-buy industry hit peak volume during the Spring Festival, the Chinese internet doesn’t expect a feast. 

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Julia Lu

Julia Lu is an intern at TechNode.