Pinduoduo E-commerce Platform: An Engine for Inclusive Employment and High-Quality Development

Pinduoduo E-commerce Platform: An Engine for Inclusive Employment and High-Quality DevelopmentIn recent years, e-commerce platforms have flourished, their "inclusive" employment ecosystem providing job opportunities for tens of millions, particularly benefiting vulnerable groups. The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences University's report, "Research Report on High-Quality Development of E-commerce Ecosystem and Employment Promotion," delves into the job creation capacity of the internet platform economy, using Pinduoduo as a case study to detail its contribution to the job market

Pinduoduo E-commerce Platform: An Engine for Inclusive Employment and High-Quality Development

In recent years, e-commerce platforms have flourished, their "inclusive" employment ecosystem providing job opportunities for tens of millions, particularly benefiting vulnerable groups. The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences University's report, "Research Report on High-Quality Development of E-commerce Ecosystem and Employment Promotion," delves into the job creation capacity of the internet platform economy, using Pinduoduo as a case study to detail its contribution to the job market. The report indicates that Pinduoduo has over 14.2 million merchants, encompassing a wide variety of product categories and business models. Considering four dimensions direct employment by merchants, employment in warehousing and logistics, platform employee employment, and indirect employment Pinduoduo has cumulatively generated a staggering 55.321 million jobs domestically.

Liu Xiaochun, the project leader and associate professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences University, points out that the rise of e-commerce platforms has enabled innovative technologies to benefit a wider range of people at an unprecedented speed. The "industry + internet" model has expanded job opportunities for tens of millions working in industry, agriculture, and services, as well as for women, the elderly, and other vulnerable groups in the traditional labor market, demonstrating significant inclusiveness.

Individual Merchants: Emergence of Diverse Employment Opportunities

The report highlights Xie Ruiling's case, showcasing the positive impact of e-commerce platforms on individual employment. This mother from Tianshui, Gansu Province, found work in a local fruit and vegetable warehouse via Pinduoduo after becoming pregnant with her second child. Thanks to Pinduoduo's sales channels and well-developed logistics system, the sales of local Huaniu apples increased significantly, boosting the demand for labor in the warehouse. Xie Ruiling's job is not only close to home, facilitating childcare, but also provides a monthly salary exceeding 3,000 yuan, far exceeding the income from odd jobs.

In Donghai County, Jiangsu Province, the wearables industry has thrived thanks to Pinduoduo, creating over 50,000 jobs, mostly held by stay-at-home mothers. For example, Ma Zhuang, whose shop on Pinduoduo achieved tens of millions of yuan in sales, has opened over 20 workshops employing more than 600 stay-at-home mothers. Each mother earns 5-8 yuan for each piece of wearable jewelry they make, with skilled workers earning over 10,000 yuan per month.

The "Online Entrepreneurship and Employment Statistics and Social Security Research Project" conducted by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the China Employment Promotion Association shows that e-commerce entrepreneurship follows the "Pareto principle" (80/20 rule): nearly 80% of online stores are self-operated, while over 20% directly create employment, with an average of 2.55 employees per store. Based on Pinduoduo's 14.2 million active merchants, the report estimates that there are 11.36 million individual stores and 2.84 million stores employing others, meaning Pinduoduo has provided direct employment opportunities for approximately 18.602 million people through its merchants.

Platform Ecosystem: Exploration of Diversified Employment Models

Beyond its main platform, Pinduoduo's Duoduo Buy Vegetables, launched in 2020, has created new employment growth points. The report shows that Duoduo Buy Vegetables' community pickup stations have provided approximately 2 million flexible employment opportunities, while warehousing and logistics such as fresh produce sorting, weighing, packaging, and delivery have created about 500,000 jobs. Combining direct employment by merchants, warehousing and logistics employment, and platform employee employment, Pinduoduo has provided 21.115 million direct jobs in China.

Associate Professor Liu Xiaochun believes that e-commerce platforms, leveraging widespread user demand, lower entry barriers and operating costs, providing merchants with vast market space, attracting numerous individual merchants and stimulating employment within their stores. Simultaneously, by identifying market needs and matching them with merchant supply, the platform further activates supply-side employment.

Inclusive Employment: Contributing to Rural Revitalization and Community Development

The e-commerce ecosystem led by internet platforms continues to expand. The Ministry of Commerce's "China's E-commerce Development in the First Half of 2024" shows that nationwide online retail sales of physical goods reached 5.96 trillion yuan, an increase of 8.8%; the number of online retail platform stores reached approximately 25.597 million, a 2.8% increase. The development and innovation of e-commerce not only drive direct employment, but also benefit more vulnerable groups indirectly.

In Yangshan Town, Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, 60-year-old Hu Xiugui used Pinduoduo and other e-commerce platforms to sell her family's peaches nationwide, achieving an annual income exceeding one million yuan, completely transforming her previous situation of hard labor with meager income.

The report points out that Pinduoduo has developed two characteristic employment sectors: supporting rural revitalization and expanding community employment. As the largest agricultural product upselling platform in China, Pinduoduo, through initiatives like "Duoduo Classroom" and "Nongyun Action," has helped over 300,000 new farmers return to their hometowns to start businesses and supported over 20 million agricultural producers in participating in the digital economy, leading to increased income and self-fulfillment. Meanwhile, Duoduo Buy Vegetables over 2 million community pickup stations provide flexible employment and income generation opportunities for women, the elderly, and people with disabilities in communities, promoting "capillary" employment.

Based on the National Bureau of Statistics' national input-output basic table, the report derives an employment multiplier of 1.62, meaning one directly employed person can indirectly support 1.62 others. Based on this, it is estimated that Pinduoduo currently supports 34.206 million indirect jobs. Liu Xiaochun believes that e-commerce platforms have created numerous unique employment opportunities in rural revitalization and community development, promoting inclusive employment, playing a significant role in promoting social equity and stability, strengthening community cohesion, improving residents' quality of life, and providing strong support for social stability and development.

Platform Innovation: Continuously Optimizing the Business Environment and Rights Protection

In addition to expanding job opportunities, internet platforms are continuously improving the business environment and rights protection mechanisms of their platform ecosystems, reducing employment and operating costs, and promoting sustainable, high-quality employment. The report notes that Pinduoduo's recently launched "Billions in Reductions," "Westward Movement," and "New Quality Supply" strategies aim to lower operating costs, logistics costs, and product, technology, and brand innovation costs, driving industrial transformation and upgrading through e-commerce ecosystem innovation and ultimately achieving high-quality employment.

Liu Xiaochun states that platform economies, represented by Pinduoduo, as new economic organizations in the digital economy era, demonstrate immense potential in resource allocation and industrial synergy, improving total factor productivity, optimizing industrial structure, and having a magnifying, additive, and multiplicative effect on promoting high-quality economic development.

In conclusion, Pinduoduo's success story fully demonstrates the enormous potential of e-commerce platforms in promoting employment, supporting rural revitalization, and driving socio-economic development. Its "inclusive" employment ecosystem warrants in-depth study and emulation, providing new impetus for China's high-quality economic development.

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