Nov 11, 2020|
In-Depth: JD Omnichannel: The Unchangeable Commitment to Customer Experience
by Ella Kidron
The Singles Day period (November 1st to 11th) is traditionally the time for customers to frantically add products to their shopping carts and compare deals across e-commerce platforms. In recent years, offline stores have also been getting in on the action, taking advantage of heightened consumer willingness to shop. Singles Day at JD, however, is not characterized by being strictly online or offline, but rather is a rich omnichannel experience. No matter where JD customers choose to observe Singles Day, there is a vast array of options available to them, and seamless connectivity across channels.
Omnichannel as a long-term priority
Based on the recognition of the fragmentation of consumer demand, shopping formats are becoming more complex. JD, focused on customer experience from day one, has been putting effort into providing a consistent experience across shopping formats. Chenkai Ling, vice president of JD.com and head of Strategy Development and CEO office, JD Retail, said: “For a retailer, the way to measure success is customer experience. Consumers are getting more sophisticated and have higher demands.” Right now, there are a lot of shopping formats – online, offline, livestreaming, content commerce, and social commerce, just to name a few. “Consumers have a very strong need to have a consistent experience across shopping formats,” said Ling.
JD’s approach to omnichannel is about what customers see and experience for themselves, as well as what happens on the backend that makes processes easier, even when they aren’t visible on the front end. Whether it is fresh food supermarket SEVEN FRESH in Beijing or Wuhan, or mega experience store E-Space in Chongqing, or even inventory integration with a fashion powerhouse like Prada, JD’s omnichannel offerings are backed by a strong supply chain that ensures seamless integration of all shopping moments across categories. Features such as price synchronization ensure that customers can enjoy benefits across channels, adding to the convenience of the experience.
SEVEN FRESH
SEVEN FRESH is JD’s high quality fresh food omnichannel offering. During the Singles Day period, JD opened two new SEVEN FRESH stores, one in Beijing’s busy CBD area, and another in the lively Hongshan district of Wuhan, Hubei province. Consumers have the choice to either shop and dine in store, or order for home deliveryin as fast as 30 minutes. JD has opened SEVEN FRESH stores in cities such as Beijing, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Xi’an, and most recently Wuhan. SEVEN FRESH is the offline complement to JD FRESH, the company’s online fresh food business making it possible for consumers to get high quality fresh food no matter where they are.
JD’s SEVEN FRESH in Wuhan, Hubei province
E-SPACE
As e-commerce becomes more popular, the question of whether or not offline stores are necessary has become more and more frequent. China, which has the highest penetration rate of e-commerce globally, only stands at 25%, leaving little room to argue about the place of brick-and-mortar in the market. In fact, with the increasing penetration of online, offline has taken on a new role as space for consumers to experience products. In most stores, this “experience” entails a short stint touching a product, maybe getting to test out a few features. This could not be farther from the case at JD E-Space, JD’s 50,000 square meter experience store in Chongqing. The store’s claim to fame is that consumers can try absolutely anything in the store. For example, consumers debating between a few different washing machines are not only welcome but encouraged to take them for a ‘spin’.
This year, JD opened six home appliance flagship stores, including one in Nanjing, Jiangsu province and one in Jiaozuo, Henan province; and most recently one in Kunming, Yunnan province, opened on Singles Day. The store in Kunming is the first of its kind in the city, and represents a significant upgrade over traditional electronics stores in the region. At around 10,000 square meters, these stores function like mini E-Spaces. Earlier this year, JD announced a plan to open 20 JD E-Space Experience Stores in first tier cities (large scale), as well as 300 home appliance flagship stores in prefectural cities on a one-city-one-store basis, and 5,000 stores in towns and villages by 2025. This Singles Day E-Space is offering extended hours from November 10th until the 11th at 3:00 am, enabling customers to shop virtually all night. On November 1st, JD E-Space welcomed over 30,000 customers and saw sales increase 10 times compared with daily average sales in October. About 70% of customers are 25-38 years old.
JD E-Space in Chongqing
JD New Markets
The omnichannel based JD New Markets business is playing a key role in this years’ Singles Day Grand Promotion. Complementary to JD’s online retail and marketplace business, JD New Markets is JD’s B2B2C business. It is committed to serving China’s over 6.8 million offline mom-and-pop stores by supplying quality products and upgrading their traditional offline shops. With over 8,500 brands on the B2B ordering platform, there are already over one million users who purchase goods for their offline stores through JD, among which 70% come from third-tier and below cities. This Singles Day, products from brands such as Lay’s, Mondelēz International, and Three Squirrels (a popular Chinese snack brand) will participate in cross category and brand-specific promotions to provide the best products at the best prices to nationwide store owners. In addition, through the JD Convenience Go mini program on WeChat provided by JD New Markets, shops can bring their operations online and expand their customer coverage.
Omnichannel Fulfillment
JD’s Omnichannel Fulfillment supply chain innovation program sources products from offline outlets located near customers, eliminating unnecessary touch points, increasing efficiency while reducing costs. When a consumer places an order online, the platform matches the order with offline supply closest to the customer in real-time, and then arranges for a courier to deliver to the consumer along the most efficient route. Instead of relying solely on the stock in JD’s warehouses, the omnichannel fulfillment platform will calculate which brick and mortar stores nearest to the customer have the items in stock, and then source the inventory from there, both ensuring supply and delivery speed. As of November 4th, JD has achieved one-hour delivery through the cooperation with JDDJ (JD Daojia, China’s leading local on-demand retail platform) in 328 cities.
Life services – buy online, enjoy offline
When consumers look at the JD Auto Service store model, they might only see offline auto repair shops. But there is in fact a complicated supply chain system making the magic happen behind the scenes. With JD Auto Service, a customer can place an order for a part online on JD and select for it to be delivered to the nearest JD Auto Service outlet. Customers don’t have to worry about a heavy rubber tire arriving at their doorstep and lugging it to the repair garage. Plus, there is the added guarantee of JD quality so they can have peace of mind as to the authenticity of the part. The “order online, enjoy services offline” model provinces a one-stop digitally tracked solution for comprehensive automotive and after sales services. From November 1st -7th, the order volume of JD Auto Service car maintenance packages increased 118 times compared with the same period last year.
JD Auto Service
The real estate market has also been a popular omnichannel experience for consumers to enjoy through JD. During the Singles Day period, transaction volume of property viewing services orders at selected offline outlets hand-selected by JD increased over 20%.
JD Health is quickly becoming the go-to destination for consumers’ online drug purchase needs. JD’s omnichannel pharmaceutical products express delivery enables ordering online and delivery to door in as fast as 30 minutes, covering more than 200 cities. On November 1st, the turnover of services increased 14 times compared with the same period last year.
Omnichannel luxury
This year, JD pioneered omnichannel in luxury fashion, marrying the rapid logistics service of online with the experience of purchasing something from a top luxury brand. Prada and Miu Miu were the first brands to partner with JD on this project, integrating JD’s inventory with the brands’ internal inventories to bring a wide range of products to JD’s customers. From July 29th to August 13th the program brought an additional 30%-plus in sales to Prada and Miu Miu. Prada’s sales on Chinese Valentine’s Day (July 7th of the lunar calendar) exceeded RMB a million yuan, boosted by the omnichannel cooperation. Customers appreciate the expanded selection as well as seeing that their product came from the Prada or Miu Miu store, giving them yet a further guarantee of authenticity while dampening concerns related to buying luxury online.
From buzzword to everyday phenomenon
Today, omnichannel is a “buzzword” associated with convenience that is popping up across the retail industry more and more. When that level of extraordinary convenience becomes ordinary, the question becomes is it still omnichannel or is it simply just retail? A global October 2019 survey of e-commerce decision makers by Statista and SearchNode revealed that 48% of global e-commerce companies viewed omnichannel as a very important strategic priority for their company in 2020. An additional 31% of companies viewed it as “somewhat important” for 2020.
All of this data collection happened before COVID-19 hit. The pandemic has had a transformative impact on retail channels globally. As Deloitte writes in an October 2020 report, “The epidemic has forced retailers to reach new heights in channel integration. They have had to diagnose their omnichannel capabilities and develop roadmaps for new situations – the first step for businesses seeking to achieve omnichannel transformation.”
With omnichannel looking like an inevitability – a necessary way to operate in the new normal, it could be argued that JD is ahead of the curve. The company’s omnichannel strategy began long before COVID-19 was a reality, and has only been strengthened as consumer shopping habits are increasingly fragmented. It all stems from one place: Making a point to enable customers and partners to shop and do business anytime, anywhere. This demonstrates that omnichannel is not just a fancy term, but rather an essential piece of supply chain management, inventory integration and first and foremost, customer experience.
Rachel Liu, Yuchuan Wang, Ling Cao, Vivian Yang, and Hui Zhang, all staff members in the Global PR Division at JD.com, contributed to this article.
Jan 16, 2024|
Harbin’s Rising Popularity as a Winter Destination in China Sparks Surge in Travel and Retail Sales
This winter, the “ice city” Harbin, capital of northeast China’s Heilongjiang province, has emerged as a magnet for tourists from all corners of the country. Harbin’s hospitality has warmed the hearts of these visitors. Their shared online experiences have further fueled the city’s tourism and consumption growth.
According to data from JD.com, searches for Harbin travel have skyrocketed, with a year-on-year growth exceeding 100 times in the past week alone. Harbin’s specialties have also been favored by tourists. JD.com’s data also reveals a substantial rise in the volume of Harbin specialty shipments since December. The Harbin Red Sausage, a beloved local delicacy, has emerged as the top souvenir choice for out-of-towners, seeing an average daily shipment volume in early January that is nearly fourfold higher than in December.
To support this influx of tourists, JD Logistics has strategically established service points at key locations, including Harbin Airport. These hubs ensure comprehensive delivery services, enhancing the overall visitor experience.
This Harbin tourism boom has also spurred a surge in sales of winter apparel. JD.com’s data indicates a rapid growth in the sales of warm clothing items such as down jackets, snow boots, and thermal underwear between January 1st and 7th. The sales growth is especially pronounced in southern provinces and cities such as Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Sichuan, and Shanghai. Notably, tall snow boots registered a 206% year-on-year increase in transactions, while padded cotton caps and thickened long down jackets soared by 158% and 134%, respectively. Beyond clothing, travel gear has also seen a considerable uptick, with a 98% year-on-year growth in transactions for large suitcases and travel backpacks in these southern regions.
To further cater to the needs of consumers gearing up for their Harbin adventures, JD.com launched a “Northbound Warmth Guide” on January 10th, offering a curated selection of warm clothing, shoes, children’s wear, and accessories, and enabling more consumers to purchase thermal equipment in a one-stop shop.
Jun 1, 2023|
JD.com’s 618 Grand Promotion Kicks Off, Record Number of Brands Reach 100 Million Yuan in Sales within the First Ten Minutes
by Yuchuan Wang and Vivian Yang
On the evening of May 31, 2023, JD.com officially launched the 618 Grand Promotion, the largest mid-year shopping festival in China. In a phenomenal display of consumer enthusiasm, over 23% more brands achieved the RMB 100-million-yuan sales milestone within the first ten minutes compared to the previous year. Additionally, an impressive 60% of newly onboarded merchants soared past their daily average sales volume for May, and 50% of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) reported their sales skyrocketing by more than 200%.
This year’s JD 618 Grand Promotion marks the 20th birthday for JD.com and offers more than ten times the number of items as those featured during the 10-billion-yuan discount program, which launched in March. The vast selection comprises over 200 of the most in-demand items and nearly ten thousand best-selling products spanning a diverse range of categories.
Upon the event’s opening, consumers in over 300 cities across the country received their pre-ordered parcels within a matter of minutes. JD.com’s dedication to excellent service, through its proprietary logistics network built since 2007, ensures the delivery of the same or next-day orders nationwide, affirming its “place an order in the morning and receive it in the afternoon” commitment. Today, the unmatched service covers 10 million products and to consumers nationwide.
JD’s on-demand retail service also showcased its advantages immediately. Within the first ten minutes of the promotion’s launch, customers in over 700 counties and cities throughout the country received their orders. The first on-demand delivery through JD Shop Now arrived at a customer’s doorstep in Changsha city within just nine minutes.
Data highlights from the shopping festival collected between 8:00 PM and 8:10 PM on May 31, 2023 include the following:
- A 23% year-on-year increase of brands surpassing a transaction volume of over RMB 100 million within the first ten minutes of the 618 promotion
- Apple’s transaction volume surpassed RMB 100 million in just one second
- Nearly 50% of small and medium-sized merchants have seen their transaction volume increase by over 200% year-on-year
- Transaction volume for home appliances and home furnishings exceeded RMB 5 billion
- Transaction volume for durian increased by more than three times year-on-year
- Transaction volume for men’s and women’s apparel increased by over 120% year-on-year
- Transaction volume for road bikes and cycling apparel increased by over 100% year-on-year
- Transaction volume for new energy vehicle tires increased by nine times year-on-year
- Within five minutes, transaction volume of JD’s cross-border platform JD Worldwide exceeded the total sales of the first two hours from last year
- A near 400% year-on-year increase in merchant usage of JD Cloud’s Yanxi Digital Human livestreaming service compared with the same period from last year’s Single’s Day promotion
- A 100% year-on-year increase in transaction volumes for 150 skincare and beauty brands, including prestigious names like YSL, Helena Rubinstein, Shu Uemura, Proya, and Lancome
- Transaction volume of luxury brands including Bulgari, Tiffany & Co., Bottega Veneta, and Givenchy increased threefold year-on-year.
- Fifteen watch brands, including Longines, Tissot, and Mido, doubled their sales year-on-year
- Entrepreneur and internet celebrity Luo Yonghao joined JD Livestreaming and sold an apartment at 61.8% of the full price, saving over RMB 1.2 million for the consumer
- Electronic product services saw a transaction volume boost of 160% year-on-year
- Trade-in services for home appliances and home furnishing products experienced a transaction volume surge of over 120% year-on-year
JD Singles Day: When Peak Day Arrives, Consumer Enthusiasm Is Strong in First Hour
