(Yicai Global) Aug. 7 -- Alibaba Group Holding's e-commerce platform Taobao has joined hands with the parent's third-party platform Alipay to compete with bulk buying service provider Pinduoduo in offering goods to consumers at wholesale prices.

Alipay's website has included a new button for 'group purchases' through which users can find specific categories of products that other users have initially ordered and join the group to obtain a discount of up to 50 percent, Shanghai Securities News reported.

Bulk-buy services are the latest trend in China's e-commerce scene after Pinduoduo raised USD1.6 billion in its massively successful Nasdaq debut on July 26. The Shanghai-based firm, run by Mengxun Information Technology, has a user base of 344 million active buyers and over one million merchants.

Alipay has 550 million monthly active users and Taobao over 430 million, the Hangzhou-based parent said, which provides easy ways to market new e-commerce services.

Other online firms JD.Com and grocery retailer MissFresh are also exploring ways to provide services for buying in groups.

Editor: Emmi Laine