Feb 9, 2017|

Imported Fresh Food Sales Explode During Spring Festival

The Year of the Rooster began with a bang at JD.com, with total sales and fulfilled orders during the Spring Festival period both doubling compared to last year. Imported fresh produce was a major breakout category with sales increasing 14-fold compared with 2016. Powered by JD’s cold chain logistics network, the company delivered diverse produce from around the world, including lobsters from North America, kiwifruit from Australia and avocados from Mexico to dining tables across the country for the biggest Chinese holiday of the year.

In the months leading up to the Spring Festival, JD.com’s sourcing team of almost 200 experts worked tirelessly to seek out the best produce from around the world. Fresh imported cherries were a major draw. To source the best cherries, which are at their peak in the Southern Hemisphere, the team worked extensively with top-tier cherry farms in Chile, Australia and New Zealand. As a result, JD.com’s Cherry Super Product Day on January 13 saw over 10 million cherries from the three countries sold on that day alone.

JD.com’s sourcing team of almost 200 experts worked tirelessly to seek out the best produce from around the world. JD.com’s Cherry Super Product Day on January 13 saw over 10 million cherries from the three countries sold on that day alone.

Other popular imported fresh produce sold during the Spring Festival included shrimp and beef, which accounted for nearly half of total imported fresh produce sales. Premium prawns from Argentina and Ecuador were especially prized by customers. Beef from Australia, New Zealand and Uruguay also all proved exceptionally popular.

“Chinese Spring Festival is always a time for traditional food, but there has been a huge surge in families looking to add international variety to their tables,” said Xiaosong Wang, President of JD.com’s Fresh Food Business Unit. “In the three weeks leading up to this year’s Spring Festival, sales of fresh produce from the US increased eight-fold versus a year ago, with sales of American lobsters up over 15-fold. This year, JD.com’s sourcing team will continue to travel the world to bring even more exciting imported food to Chinese tables.”

JD.com’s efficient logistics network operated without interruption throughout the Spring Festival holiday, providing same and next-day delivery service in 110 cities and fresh produce in 69 cities nationwide, reaching Heihe city of Heilongjiang province bordered by Russia in the north and Sansha City in the southern Hainan Province.

The company expects to see a continued boom in imported food sales as Chinese palates become more sophisticated, and customers become increasingly aware of the breadth of JD.com’s free food offering.

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