May 20, 2021|
Internationalization of JD 618 on Display at Kickoff Conference
by Ella Kidron
JD.com held the kickoff event for its 618 Grand Promotion on May 21. The event gathered representatives from over a hundred brand partners. Awards were presented to the top 10 brands across 12 different categories. Among the award recipients are several top international brands, which underscores the international nature of JD’s 618 Grand Promotion.
The 10 Best International Brand awards come from seven different countries – Australia, France, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland, the U.K. and the U.S. Brands include Swisse, Royal Canin, Apple, Dyson, Danone, Lego, Nestlé, SK-II, Lancôme and Panasonic. In additional, several of the brands in other categories, such as omni-channel cooperation, Customer-to-Manufacturer, innovation, smart products, service consumption and supply chain partnership also hail from overseas. Brands in these categories come from 10 countries. These brands are associated with high quality, a value which has only become more important to consumers as their spending power has improved. Senior brand representatives were in attendance to accept the award and celebrate the official start of the 618 promotion season.
“JD 618 is truly going global,” said a JD spokesperson. “The Chinese market is a top priority for many of the world’s top brands, and JD’s supply chain strength provides them with the capabilities they need to succeed here and to connect with consumers. The awards issued today represent not only how we and our brand partners have growth together, but also the importance of the JD platform in bringing leading international brands to China with impeccable quality and service.”
At the event, the JD Big Data Research Institute unveiled seven trends to characterize this year’s 618, all of which indicate pursuit of quality, more individualized demands and the shift to buying services as well as commodities. Chinese brands are increasingly popular, especially with young consumers and seniors. At the same time, more international brands are being purchased at home.
The recent International Consumer Products Expo held in Haikou, Hainan province, provided insight into the convenience of the Hainan Free Trade Port for international brands. JD Worldwide, JD’s platform for international products, was an early mover, establishing duty free stores in Hainan earlier this year, and implementing preferential policies to facilitate overseas brands’ sales to Chinese consumers.
On the supply chain front, the widespread use of omni-channel models is driving unprecedented delivery speed. JD has already expanded its “One Hour Delivery Circle” to include consumer electronics such as mobile phones. Something else that’s clear is consumers are sure of and more specific as to what they want. The rise of young consumers with specific demands is driving the growth of sub-categories, such as mini-washing machines for baby clothes, and mini-dishwashers for singles and small families.
Rural vitalization is in full swing. In e-commerce this means the diversification, scale and high quality of agricultural products. In another vein, responsible consumption, including a preference for green, energy-saving and repurposed products, is becoming a greater consumption priority. This is also driving an emphasis on “greening” the supply chain at each step in the process. JD’s Green Stream Initiative is invested in enabling all supply chain actors from production to consumption to engage in greener operations, maximizing the number of products which can be shipped to consumers directly from their origins and reducing the number of touchpoints from factory to consumer.
Finally, digitalization covering the entire supply chain is improving efficiency, enhancing experience and reducing costs. JD’s open supply chain platform is able to quickly rearrange and allocate supply chain resources, making the whole system more agile and responsive. This is critical during 618 when JD will work to put products as close to customers as possible with the help of AI and big data analysis and then deliver them as quickly as possible. During last-year’s Singles Day Grand Promotion, the company used these capabilities to deliver a lipstick to a customer in Northeast China only six minutes after she placed her order.
The promotion is now entering its 18th year. Originally it was a means of giving back to consumers for their loyalty on JD, but now 618 is a mid-year shopping festival observed by all e-commerce players in China, and increasingly by offline stores as well. Pre-sales begin on May 21st, and the official promotion runs from Jun. 1-18 on JD.com, at all of the company’s offline stores (SEVEN FRESH, JD E-SPACE, JD Home Appliances, JD Auto Shop, and more), as well as at stores and restaurants of the company’s partners, making it possible for consumers to buy whatever they want, whenever and wherever they want it, and receive it as conveniently as possible.
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.
JD Logistics Won an AI Innovation Award
