May 26, 2021|
Big Read about Papers: Post-COVID Purchasing Habits in China
by Ella Kidron
The global toilet paper frenzy which erupted during COVID-19 and sent massive jolts to paper products supply chains is a well-known and hot topic to discuss. Less is mentioned in terms of what happened in China where the mad dash to buy and store toilet paper was not as apparent, but masks and disinfectant wipes certainly saw massive spikes in demand. Even as the pandemic seemed to ebb in the country of nearly 1.4 billion people, demand for these products have remained high as wearing a mask is now part of the wardrobe.
On May 26, the JD Big Data Research Institute shared its report on China’s paper products market trends, shedding some light on the topic. The comments were made at the International Household and Sanitary Paper Products Forum hosted by the China National Household Paper Industry Association (CNHPIA), under the China Paper Association.
“We’ve seen that more and more consumers are accustomed to buying paper products online, regardless of age, gender or origin,” said Fei Dong, senior analyst at the JD Big Data Research Institute. “Female users are playing an increasingly important role in household paper products and are very sensitive to sales promotion. Categories such as wet wipes, which given that they are a ‘nice to have’, are representative of the consumption upgrade phenomenon in China are soaring and there is still much room for growth in lower-tier markets. In ‘on demand’ retail, FMCG products represented by paper products, have gained consumer recognition and are worth more attention from brands,” she added.
Fei Dong of the JD Big Data Research Institute
The upward trend of paper products sales across wipes, household paper products and absorbent sanitary products (think diapers, sanitary pads, etc.) can be seen from 2018 data, but is much more apparent when looking at 2019 vs. 2020 data. According to The Business Research Company’s paper industry outlook report, rising e-commerce is expected to drive the market for paper products. The global paper products market is expected to grow from US$837.6 billion in 2020 to US$885.6 billion in 2021 at a CAGR of 5%. According to the report, the Asia Pacific is the largest region in the global paper products market, accounting for 35.3% of the total in 2020, followed by North America, Western Europe and other regions. The market in China is expected to gain the most in China at US$41.2 billion.
Specifically looking at the three categories named above, the household paper products category is higher than the other two. Overall sales volume of paper products has increased 66% YOY between 2018 and 2020. The absorbent sanitary products category increased the fastest in 2020, reaching 115%. According to China National Household Paper Industry Association statistics, the overall size of the paper products market grew 2.6% from 2018-19, reaching RMB 119.8 billion yuan.
Purchasing moves online
Furthermore, as is the case with most categories, more and more consumers are now accustomed to buying paper products online. In the wipes category, wet wipes, cotton towels and moist toilet paper are the top three sub-categories in terms of sales volume, among which cotton towels have experienced significant growth, reaching 50 times the same period last year. In the household paper products category, the top three are napkins, toilet paper and pocket tissues. Growth in the napkins and kitchen paper towel categories is most notable. It should come as no surprise that the top three products in the absorbent sanitary paper category are masks, baby diapers and pullups among which sales volume of masks has reached 15 times the same period last year
Demographic breakdown
Age 26-45 consumers are the main force of wipes consumption. The proportion of age 16-25 consumers is growing the fastest while it is comparatively shrinking for age 36-45 consumers. Compared with the age distribution across JD’s platform, consumption by age 36-45 users in the paper products category is noticeably higher.
Female users are playing an increasingly important role in household paper products consumption. From the perspective of consumers’ genders, the portion of female consumers in the wet wipes category has remained high from 2018-2020, reaching 70% in 2020. Female consumers are found to prefer cotton towels and kitchen cleaning towels, and pay more attention to facial cleansing. Male consumers prefer moist toilet paper and wet wipes. In the absorbent sanitary products category, male consumers account for a relatively high proportion of mask and baby goods purchases. Over the past three years, the share of male consumers has increased slightly, by 1.8%. Female users, on the other hand accounted for 62% of total purchases in the absorbent sanitary products category, of which products such as tampons and sanitary pads accounted for more than 80% of purchases.
Looking at the overall sales of paper products in provinces and cities across the country, sales in Guangdong, Beijing, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Sichuan, etc. are higher, while sales in Tianjin, Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong, Jilin, etc. have achieved rapid growth. Looking at the proportion of sales of various paper products in each market, wipes account for a relatively high proportion in 1st and 2nd tier markets, while household paper products capture the attention of consumers in 3rd-6th tier markets. The distribution of absorbent sanitary products across city tiers is relatively uniform
Sensitivity to promotions
Looking at the change in the proportion of users from the perspective of sensitivity to promotion and reviews in the past three years in the wipes category, consumers pay more attention to promotions and will chose align purchasing with promotions. Products with high attention to promotions are baby wipes, where as there is lower attention to promotions for ordinary wet wipes. In terms of attention to reviews, attention to reviews for moist toilet paper is high while attention for kitchen towel is low.
In household paper products kitchen paper towels is relatively high, whereas the proportion for napkins is relatively low. From reviews and keywords, consumers pay attention to thickness, liquid absorption, and cleaning effectiveness. When it comes to buying baby products and tampons, where attention to review is high, attention to promotion is also high, indicating that consumers will consider both when making purchases. People who pay more attention to goods such as tampons, pullups and baby diapers are more concerned about reviews and promotions overall. Looking at reviews and keywords, consumers pay attention to high quality, convenience of putting on/removing, aeration, and comfort.
New brands and new channels
Looking at the number of brands and products in the different paper categories for 2020, within the wipes category, the increase in new brands reached 135% and the increase in the number of products reached 168% indicating that more brands chose to invest in the wipes market. In the absorbent sanitary products category, the increase in the number of brands and products reached 75% and 68% respectively. There are relatively few new entrants into the tissue paper category, while the increase in new products reached 66%.
Finally, in “on-demand” retail (defined as delivery within a few hours, rather than days), FMCG products, represented by paper products, are gaining more attention from consumers. Food and beverages, fresh, paper products and personal care, remain the top categories for on-demand retail.
Apr 22, 2024|
JD.com Debuts AI Digital Representative of Founder Richard Liu During Livestream, Drawing 20 Million Views in Under One Hour
During a livestream on April 16th, JD.com introduced an AI digital representative of its founder, Richard Liu (Qiangdong Liu), nicknamed “procurement and sales manager Brother Dong (采销东哥).” Liu appeared in both JD Home Appliances and JD Supermarket’s livestreaming rooms, attracting over 20 million views within the first hour and generating RMB 50 million in sales throughout the entire livestream.
The digital representative almost perfectly replicates Liu’s facial expressions, body language, gestures, and voice, capturing even the subtlest movements of his fingers. Behind this technology is JD Cloud’s ChatRhino, an advanced large language model (LLM) that brings the avatar to life.
Behind the Technology
The LLM precisely mirrors Liu’s distinctive expressions and movements, naturally weaving in his occasional finger twiddles while he speaks, accentuating points with hand gestures, and adding nods at just the right moments for emphasis, creating a natural and authentic representation. Perfecting the voice proved to be a greater challenge. Those who have heard Liu speak are well-acquainted with the distinct inflections of his Suqian accent—a characteristic touch from his small-town roots in Jiangsu province. Observers will note the brisk pace of his speech, lighter enunciation, and his tendency to meld words in a seamless flow. His “sh” sounds carry a nasal quality, and he often addresses people as “brothers” to boost morale.
While programming the standard Mandarin dialect is relatively straightforward, teaching the AI to adopt the nuances of the Suqian dialect and Liu’s unique vocal patterns required a precise level of customization from the ChatRhino LLM. For example, the LLM had to provide accurate judgments on when to introduce the nasal tonality or the specific moments to merge words, ensuring the AI’s linguistic output mirrored Liu’s signature speaking style authentically.
Beyond replicating vocal characteristics, the AI’s voice must also be suitable for the casual, dynamic atmosphere of e-commerce livestreaming, such as adopting colloquialisms like “xiong di men” — a phrase comparable to “folks” or “guys” in English — to create a friendly rapport with the audience. JD Cloud’s ChatRhino team fine-tuned the model to focus on sociable nuances. The initial dataset for the LLM consisted predominantly of Liu’s formal speeches—spirited and compelling, yet too ceremonious for the interactive world of livestreaming. To cultivate a more congenial and approachable persona, the team utilized Liu’s recent casual conversations as the primary source material, rich with personal anecdotes and travel tales. This approach shaped the AI’s voice into one that is that is not only natural and approachable but also genuinely engaging for the end user.
As a fully self-developed technology product of JD Cloud, the ChatRhino Digital Representative solution has already served over 4,000 brand merchants, contributing to a 30% increase in order conversion rate during idle hours and helping merchants reduce livestreaming costs, enhance operational efficiency, and optimize user experience. Equipped with 50,000 hours of voice data, this technology enables digital representatives to intelligently adapt to various livestreaming styles dynamically.
The AI is also adept at managing 70% of routine live chat inquiries autonomously without any manual intervention, while also optimizing its responses with a self-improving algorithm. For instance, digital representatives can autonomously fields questions using product details and scripts, and post-livestream, and assimilate new information. Mirroring the acumen of seasoned sales professionals, it boasts a 90% accuracy rate in offering tailored product recommendations when solicited by customers.
The recent introduction of a cutting-edge livestream control console serves as the “brain” for the digital representative solution. It diligently monitors real-time inventory, adjusting the showcased products in the livestream and tailoring the script to ensure relevance—sidestepping items that are out of stock and spotlighting those in high demand. It also gauges and fine-tunes the frequency and style of interactions based on live audience engagement. With this advanced platform, businesses managing multiple livestreams can effortlessly operate thousands of sessions concurrently via cloud services, bypassing the need for intricate local setups. This innovation yields a substantial cost reduction of 30%.
Human-Machine Synergy
The intention behind digital avatars is not to outshine or compete with human talent but to harness the potential of technology to work in concert with livestreamers, maximizing overall growth. Essentially, the digital representative solution serves as a tool for brands and merchants to leverage long-tail traffic once real livestreamers conclude their broadcasts. JD’s analytics indicate this strategy can boost order conversion rates by 30% during off-peak hours, such as late into the night.
Digital representatives also excel in specific product categories that require detailed explanations, such as health products like nursing beds, electric wheelchairs, and oxygen concentrators. The solution can provide constant, round-the-clock guidance, adding substantial value to livestreams when traffic is typically lower.
Last week, JD.com announced an investment of one billion yuan into video content creation. This investment underscores JD’s commitment to leveraging the power of short videos and livestreams to transform the online shopping experience for its users and create new growth avenues for brand merchants.
Apr 20, 2024|
JD.com Unveils Ambitious Plans for 618 Grand Promotion: Aiming to More Than Double High-Performing Merchants
JD.com is gearing up for this year’s 618 Grand Promotion with an ambitious goal: to more than double the number of merchants achieving sales over one million yuan on its platform. At the recent Conference of Merchants and Ecosystem Partners on April 18, JD.com introduced a range of supportive initiatives aimed at achieving this ambitious target.
Sandy Xu, CEO of JD.com, noted at the conference that the company will dedicate significant resources to bolster traffic support, incorporate advanced AI technology, and enhance service capabilities. These efforts are particularly focused on empowering third-party merchants, including small and medium-sized enterprises in its marketplace.
Key initiatives include optimizing the platform’s traffic distribution ecosystem to prioritize highly-rated stores and products and competitively priced products through enhanced search and recommendation mechanisms. Additionally, JD.com will continue to offer merchants free access to high-traffic channels, which include significant incentives such as the popular 10-billion-yuan discount and free shipping programs.
To engage more content creators, JD.com recently announced that it will allocate over one billion yuan in cash incentives and traffic resources. This investment aims to cultivate a vibrant ecosystem that supports merchants’ traffic, business growth, and innovation.
At the core of JD.com’s strategy is technological innovation, which involves integrating AI-driven solutions into merchant operations. This includes the deployment of JD’s proprietary large language model, ChatRhino, and an AI-empowered merchant operation platform that offers are variety of free AI applications, and more. These technologies streamline various operations scenarios, enhance efficiency, and reduce costs for merchants.
For instance, On April 16th, JD.com unveiled an AI digital avatar of its founder, Richard Liu, as a sales host on its livestreaming platform. This event attracted 20 million viewers in just one hour and generated sales exceeding RMB 50 million ($6.9 million). This AI-driven virtual host technology, developed by JD Technology, is now supporting over 4,000 brands on the platform. Additionally, merchants such as a sashimi knife seller can utilize JD.com’s AIGC content generation tool to quickly produce high-quality demonstration images, bypassing traditional costs associated with product photography.
JD.com also continues to enhance its service capabilities, particularly for small and medium-sized merchants. This includes personalized business guidance, comprehensive training programs, and upgraded after-sales services, ensuring a seamless shopping experience for customers.
As of March 2024, JD.com has seen a significant increase in active third-party merchants on its platform, surpassing one million. This growth is a testament to the platform’s effectiveness and its appeal to both new and established merchants.
Responsible Drinking at JD: You Have the Choice to Opt-Out of Alcohol Marketing
