【双语阅读】经济学人：拼多多还能挺住吗？

Rise and fall

起起落落

Pinduoduo, China’s e-commerce star, suffers a blow

中国电子商务明星拼多多遭受重创

Triumphs are fleeting in China’s fast-changing economy. Earlier this month Colin Huang, the founder of Pinduoduo, a Chinese e-commerce darling, became the country’s richest man. 

在快速变迁的中国经济版图中，胜利往往如流星般一闪而逝。本月初，中国电商界的宠儿——拼多多创始人黄峥，短暂地登上了中国首富的宝座。

The company, founded in 2015, rose to success by offering a gamified shopping experience where users can buy in groups to secure lower prices. Today it is China’s third-largest e-commerce firm by sales, behind only JD.com and Alibaba.

这家自2015年创立的企业，凭借游戏化的购物模式异军突起，让消费者通过团购享受更低价格，从而赢得了市场的青睐。时至今日，若以销售额论英雄，拼多多已跻身中国电子商务领域的前三甲，仅次于京东与阿里巴巴。

Mr Huang’s time atop China’s rich list was, however, brief. On August 26th Pinduoduo’s share price cratered by nearly 30% after it reported sales for the quarter from April to June that fell short of the market’s lofty expectations and gave warning that a long-run decline in profitability was “inevitable”. Mr Huang’s net worth plunged by $14bn, to a meagre $35bn; he is now only China’s fourth-richest person.

然而，黄峥在中国富豪榜的辉煌时刻转瞬即逝。8月26日，拼多多发布了第二季度（4月至6月）的销售额数据，该数据未能满足市场的高期待，并发出预警，称长期盈利能力的下滑“在所难免”。此消息一出，公司股价应声而落，暴跌近30%。随之，黄峥的个人净资产大幅缩水140亿美元，仅余350亿美元，排名也因此滑落至中国富豪榜第四。

Pinduoduo’s woes are set against a backdrop of weakening consumer spending in China. In June sales from the “618” shopping festival fell for the first time since the annual e-commerce event began in 2010, despite a number of platforms extending their sales periods this year. 

拼多多的困境恰逢中国消费者支出趋弱的背景之下。今年6月，“618”购物节见证了自2010年该年度电商盛事启动以来的首次销售额下滑，即便众多平台纷纷延长了促销周期。

Industry analysts expect e-commerce sales in China to continue slowing. eMarketer, a research firm, forecasts that annual revenue growth will fall from 8.3% this year to 6.5% in 2028.

行业观察家预测，中国电子商务市场的销售增速将持续放缓。研究机构 eMarketer 更是预计，至2028年，年度营收增长率将从今年的8.3%下调至6.5%。

A vicious price war is adding to the trouble. Visit any Chinese e-commerce site and you will be battered by signs advertising huge discounts and promising the cheapest deals online. 

更为严峻的是，一场愈演愈烈的价格战让拼多多的处境雪上加霜。浏览中国的任何一家电商平台，用户都会被铺天盖地的折扣广告和“全网最低价”的承诺所包围。

Algorithms promote sellers with the lowest prices. Competition has grown more intense because of forays into e-commerce by short-video apps such as Douyin (TikTok’s Chinese sister company) and Xiaohongshu (China’s answer to Instagram).

算法智能推荐最低价卖家，进一步加剧了价格竞争。随着短视频应用如抖音（中国版 TikTok）和小红书（中国版 Instagram）涉足电商领域，市场竞争更是趋于白热化。

Mutinous merchants are piling yet more pressure on the industry. Some Chinese e-commerce companies juice their sales by fining merchants for late deliveries or product mismatches. 

此外，商家的叛离也为这一行业带来了前所未有的压力。为提升销售额，部分中国电商企业开始对延迟发货或商品不符的商家施以罚款。

Last month hundreds of suppliers surrounded the offices of Temu, Pinduoduo’s foreign offshoot, in the southern city of Guangzhou to protest against such penalties. Dozens broke into the building. 

上个月，数百名供应商聚集于拼多多位于中国南方广州的海外分公司 Temu 的办公地点，抗议此类处罚措施，甚至有数十人强行闯入大楼。

In response, Pinduoduo said on its earnings call that it would invest 10bn yuan ($1.4bn) to reduce fees for merchants and create “a healthy and sustainable platform ecosystem”.

作为回应，拼多多在财报电话会议中宣布，将斥资100亿元人民币（约合14亿美元），以降低商家费用，旨在构建一个“健康、可持续的平台生态系统”。

Pinduoduo may be hoping that international expansion will rescue it from deteriorating conditions at home. That will not be straightforward. 

拼多多或许正寻求通过国际扩张来摆脱国内日益严峻的市场环境，但这条道路并不平坦。

Although the number of people perusing Temu, which launched in America in 2022, has rocketed, owing in no small part to the vast amounts it has spent on advertising, turning that into revenue has proved trickier. eMarketer reckons Temu will capture less than 2% of e-commerce sales in America this year, compared with more than 40% for Amazon.

其旗下平台 Temu 于2022年在美国市场亮相，尽管凭借巨额广告投入吸引了大量浏览量，但将流量转化为实际收入却面临重重挑战。据 eMarketer 估算，今年 Temu 在美国电商销售中的份额不足2%，相比之下，亚马逊则占据了超过40%的市场份额。

What is more, America’s e-commerce titan is fighting back against the Chinese upstart. During its Prime Day sale in July it offered discounts of up to 70% on some products. 

更为关键的是，这家美国电商巨头正在对中国新晋势力发起反击。在7月的 Prime Day 促销活动中，部分商品折扣率高达70%。

It is also reportedly planning to launch a discount section on its site which will feature cheap items shipped directly from factories in China. Cash-strapped consumers may celebrate the growing range of cheap goods on offer. For China’s e-commerce star, however, the future no longer looks as bright.

据报道，亚马逊还计划推出一个专门销售从中国工厂直发的廉价商品的折扣板块。对于预算有限的消费者而言，这无疑是个好消息，但对于中国的电商明星而言，未来之路似乎不再那么光明。

（红色标注词为重难点词汇）

重难点词汇：

mutinous [ˈmjutnəs] adj. 反叛的；暴动的；叛变的

deteriorate [dɪˈtɪriəreɪt] v. 恶化；变坏；退化；衰退

peruse [pəˈruz] v.仔细阅读；详细审查；认真研究