Apr 16, 2021|
In-depth Report: JD Worldwide Six Years and Going: Bridging Brands and Customers
by Rachel Liu, Ling Cao and Hui Zhang
On JD Worldwide’s sixth anniversary on Apr. 15, customers showed enthusiasm in purchasing various products sourced from around the world, with data showing that beauty and health supplements are the best-selling categories among imported products, including brands like Ryo, Swisse and Move Free.
Since 2014, the Chinese government has issued a series of policies to support the cross-border e-commerce model. During this time, retailers, e-commerce platforms and logistics providers have all started to enter the field, making it one of the important windows for the global economy and trade. In November 2020, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) was signed, initiating a large-scale free trade agreement and encouraging more brands to explore China’s massive market. Chinese consumers are also getting more familiar with imported products and showed increasing demand. Data shows that in the recent three years (2017-2019), consumption made during overseas travelling of Chinese people surpassed RMB 1 trillion yuan.
Yunpeng Wang, general manager of JD Worldwide shared, “We saw increasing demand from customers pursuing tailored and high-quality products, and with the support from the macro environment and related policies, the whole imported products industry saw rapid growth.”
The Leading Imported Platform
“JD Worldwide not only gained a leading position on market share, brand value and customer recognition in the industry, but also showed social responsibility during the pandemic last year,” said Wang. “Our strong supply chain allowed us to keep providing imported products that customers need during the pandemic, especially during the first few months of 2020, when global supply chain was heavily affected.” JD Worldwide’s strong supply chain and first-party model ensured that it was one of the few platforms that was able to provide service down to the last mile during that time.
Established in April 2015, JD Worldwide has become a trusted platform for Chinese customers to shop for imported products online and offline, which offers over 10 million SKUs (stock keeping units) of imported products from 20,000 brands and 100 countries, covering categories including maternal and baby, fashion, beauty, electronics, food, health supplements and more
Under the increasing demand of Chinese customers for overseas products, JD Worldwide also witnessed a fast growth rate, especially in the past two years since JD put international business as one of the top priorities for the company and provided a wide range of support for the imported business. It is now among the top three e-commerce platforms for imported products in the industry.
JD Worldwide has a strong focus on first-party business, which means it works closely with brand partners and purchases products directly from them to store in JD’s own overseas warehouses, which ensures fast delivery and the authenticity and inventory size of the products. Its growing third-party business ecosystem allows brands to open their own store on the platform, providing another choice to work with JD. It has 32 bonded warehouse and overseas warehouses, covering 440 thousand square meters. Over 220 countries and regions can be reached by JD’s international logistics routes.
JD Worldwide is a platform to help brands step up and grow in the Chinese market. Many brands and third-party partners grew together with JD Worldwide from the beginning of its launching, such as Swisse.
An Integrated One-Stop Platform
JD Worldwide has joined the first group of players in the cross-border business, and made great efforts to optimize customer experience. “One of our biggest milestones in the past six years is that in November 2019, we made an important decision to upgrade our business from a cross-border platform to a comprehensive imported products platform, aiming to create a one-stop platform between international brands with customers,” said Wang.
On the one hand, JD has integrated all the imported products in one place, including cross-border business and general trade business, which now includes duty-free business after the opening of a duty-free store in Hainan. On the other hand, JD has upgraded its infrastructure to match the business development, from warehousing, product quality management, delivery to after-sales. Wang shared, “It’s all about consistently improving experience. We want to achieve an idea that when customers visit JD Worldwide, they are immersing themselves in a super imported mall experience. After the upgrade, we can see customer’s satisfaction rate has steadily increased.”
Under the program, JD will also create innovative marketing ways to attract customers, such as inviting celebrities to open stores, participate in livestreams and other social e-commerce initiatives. By working with Wanda Group, JD Worldwide invited celebrities to recommend products in the Wanda Group flagship store to attract customers. In the first three months of its opening, the store attracted over 1 million followers, about 30% faster than average. In product quality and services, JD will provide special refund policies, and provide more benefits for its PLUS members. JD has also continuously been making the entry process easier for overseas merchants, by opening national pavilions for different countries and regions. JD aims to work with more and more overseas brands and sellers to introduce global specialties to Chinese customers. On April 15, JD Worldwide just formed partnership with Taihe Music Group (TMG) to have TMG stars promote quality imported goods, expanding the program to more entertainment celebrities.
To add more choices for customers and provide more overseas brands a seamless way to enter the Chinese market, JD Worldwide began to source products directly from international shopping malls and e-commerce platforms since last November. It works directly with the partners to launch the latest products from their stores or online platforms simultaneously on JD Worldwide. It will transfer the orders to the partners for them to send products to customers directly from overseas, without third-party transit.
For partners, this not only adds a new sales channel in China with lower logistics and warehouse cost, but also help them test the Chinese market and cultivate best-selling products in a convenient way. JD Worldwide can also offer richer imported product choices for customers through this project, especially non-standardized and high-value products like fashion and electronics.
A series of international malls and offline stores including Rakuten, Kintetsu, AUTOBACS, SOLETRADER, Muller, AKPLAZA, LUXBOY, Tiendas Agatha, Qoo10 and PG Mall have joined the project.
Wang emphasized JD Worldwide’s open attitude. “Offering a comprehensive imported products platform, we hope JD Worldwide forms a prosperous multiple-model ecosystem. Further, we hope that by using omni-channel operation to connect online and offline, such as our duty-free and cross-border stores recently opened in Sanya, Hainan province, brands will find that business is more sustainable.”
Entry to Blue Ocean: Duty-Free Business
Last year, JD Worldwide made a big move to enter the duty-free business by opening a store through partnering with Hainan Tourism and Investment Development Co.. The decision echoes recent preferential policies initiated as part of China’s plan to build a high-quality free trade port in the province. According to the plan, Hainan will establish a basic free trade port policy system with a key focus on helping free trade and investment by 2025.
With such a high potential market, and a long growth trajectory, many companies are interested in getting in on the action. JD’s supply chain advantages, technology strength and in-depth market insights give the company a unique position to provide consumers new value. Unlike traditional duty-free stores focusing on fashion, luxury, cosmetics, and even alcohol and cigarettes, JD’s duty-free store in Hainan has gone in an entirely different direction, equipping the store with consumer electronics and small appliances, such as hair dryers, speakers, and coffee machines, aiming to provide consumers with a wider range of affordable products than was available previously and attract a larger variety of consumers to duty free shopping.
“In the past, duty free stores could not engage with their potential consumers through multiple ways. They had no idea why many consumers visited the store, but didn’t buy anything. JD’s market insights will be of great help to them,” said Mark Ma, head of operations for duty free business at JD Worldwide.
“We’re not only consolidating our own strength, but also looking forward to facilitating the digitalization of the duty-free industry,” said Ma. “We are preparing to launch an online duty-free JD mini program this year to enhance an omni-channel shopping experience for customers.”
The Vision and Future of JD Worldwide
With trade across countries steadily returning to normal as the pandemic stabilizes and consumers’ demands for international products increasing, JD Worldwide is committed to becoming a platform which can effectively connect both consumers and brands.
JD Worldwide is endeavoring to pave the way for international brands to not only survive but also flourish in the competitive Chinese market. “It’s only our first step to bring in overseas brands to JD. What’s most important for us is to help the brands take root in the Chinese market,” said Wang. “Brands recruitment and empowerment through JD’s various strengths are what we are doing right now, and will continue to do in the future.”
Of course, the customer experience will always be the top priority for JD Worldwide. For Wang, there is a lot to be improved and needs long-time efforts. “We will enlarge our partnership pool with international brands, and improve experience in delivery speed, supply chain efficiency, as well as more convenient and flexible after-sale services.”
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
In-Depth Report: JD Health Reshapes Service for China’s Seniors 
