[1] In recent times, group buying websites such as Pinduoduo in China have emerged in the online shopping business.
Many of the group-buying sites work by negotiating deals with local merchants and promising to deliver a higher foot count in exchange for better prices.
In 2000, with financial backing from Microsoft, co-founder Paul Allen started an e-commerce start-up called Mercata with a business plan dubbed "We Commerce".
These group buys, often result in better prices for individual buyers or ensure that a scarce or obscure item is available for sale.
Group buying sites are back in demand as small businesses look for ways to promote their products to budget-conscious consumers in a weak global economy.
Online group buying gained prominence in other parts of Asia during 2010 with new websites in Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines.
Users receive daily emails with local deals, which carry some preset time limit.
[10] The online group buying market is fragmented among hundreds of smaller players worldwide.
The popularity of the strategy in China is often attributed to the Chinese tradition of bargaining for the purchase of goods of all types.