Aug 9, 2017|
JD.com Provides Glimpse Into the Future of Retail with Expansion of Offline Experience Shops
JD.com, China’s largest retailer, is expanding its offline reach in China.
The company, which rose quickly to become China’s largest retailer, online or offline, through its e-commerce business, is looking to leverage the advantages of an offline experience to further expand its lead. It is rolling out offline “JD Retail Experience Shops”, where customers can touch and feel products ranging from digital and home appliance products, to books, JD’s DingDong smart speaker and baby and maternal products, all of which are sourced from JD.com. The selection is focused on products that consumers often like to feel and test in person before buying, and tailored on a store-by-store basis using the big data that we have from each neighborhood’s shopping habits.
Using a franchise model with centralized oversight and quality control, the shops will be powered by JD’s cutting-edge retail technology for demand planning, inventory management and targeted marketing, making the storefronts more efficient and adaptable to market changes than any traditional retail business.
The shops provide a glimpse into the way e-commerce will change the future of retail. JD is working together with service partners to adapt their supply chains to increasing demand from customers for better and faster service.
One of the biggest pain points for retail in today’s fast-moving consumer culture is inventory management. Unlike e-commerce companies, brick-and-mortar retailers have to keep many physical storefronts stocked with products, leading to inventory bloat when they overestimate demand, and lost business when they underestimate it. JD’s technology, powered by predictive analytics using big data, will keep offline stores stocked with recommended categories and suggested amounts of products, while localizing the selection depending on consumer buying preferences in each location.
“JD spent over a decade building out the logistics infrastructure for China’s largest retail operation out of necessity,” said Shengli Hu, President of JD Electronics. “Today, we are the only large-scale e-commerce company in the world that can deliver more than 92% of orders same or next-day. And after honing all of our processes with the most advanced technology, from procurement to transportation, quality control and more, we are putting that technology at the forefront of a new revolution in retail.”
So far, there are 92 JD Retail Experience Shops with nearly 15,000 SKUs that are stocked and replenished using JD’s smart supply chain management systems. The number will increase to 300 by end of this year. JD Retail Experience Shops, some of which feature children’s play areas and massage areas for the elderly, are built as 200 square-meter spaces within stores operated by JD’s service partners. In Changping, a Beijing suburb, one JD Retail Experience Shop generated 1,096 orders worth RMB 1.23 million on its opening day.
“By expanding our offline business, and eventually, offering retail-as-a-service to other companies, we believe we can make shopping both online and offline better for both service partners and consumers,” Mr. Hu said. “Our technology can be a solution throughout the retail industry, and beyond.”
Apr 23, 2020|
JD Mini Program Open Platform Seamlessly Connects WeChat
by Yuchuan Wang
On April 22nd, JD.com announced its own JD Mini Program Open Platform. Thanks to the company’s strategic partnership with Tencent, programs can be seamlessly adapted for the WeChat platform.
As one of the company’s strategic projects, the platform is open not only to brands and merchants on JD’s platforms, but also external partners from various industries, to develop independent mini programs across the various apps in JD’s ecosystem such as the JD.com and the JD Finance apps. It will also be introduced to the 7FRESH and JD Health apps.
Burger King will kick off its JD PLUS Member Center mini program in May, making the fast food giant the first partner in the catering industry to use JD’s mini program to distribute benefits to customers who may use the mini program to make purchases in the restaurants, with full connectivity to their JD account, membership, payment and credits. Additionally, JD’s 360 million active customers base offers big potential for Burger King.
JD Mini Program Open Platform uses JD’s complete chain of marketing, transaction, payment, membership and logistics to enable merchants to build their own scenarios. For example, home appliances companies can launch value-added services such as cleaning services to further extend their engagement with customers, facilitating sales conversion and user operations, with low R&D and maintenance costs.
Partners such as China Telecom, Mehood Hotel and ehi Car Services are also among the companies launching their own mini programs on JD to provide personalized services.
“Opening up technologies has become a trend for the industry,” said Paul Yan, Head of JD Retail Technology and Big Data. “JD Mini Program Open Platform empowers merchants with JD’s technology and services to help them comprehensively enhance the user experience.”
Apr 13, 2020|
JD Introduces Convenience Store + Bakery Offering
by Yuchuan Wang
On April 10th, the first JD Convenience Store offering an in-store bakery opened in Beijing. Products such as doughnuts and bread are baked onsite at the store. The JD Convenience Store brand plans to introduce additional combined store formats in the future to meet the diversified needs of consumers.
Unlike common convenience stores which mainly provide prepacked products and cooked meals, the newly opened JD Convenience Store with a bakery is a solution to respond to the needs of the neighborhood. The store is in an office building, and its meal solutions for breakfast, afternoon tea and dinner are extended with the addition of the bakery. In order to ensure quality and freshness, the store uses only high-quality ingredients and has a strict process to select and train its bakers, who are required to develop new offerings regularly to meet consumers’ changing tastes. The store offers cake customization, which is also expected to attract more consumers.
“JD helped me position and design the store. The team also worked with me to design a product selection that would meet the demands of white collar professionals. I believe the introduction of an in-store bakery will help attract more customers” said Ms. Zhou, the store owner.
“Leveraging JD’s strengths in merchandise, service and technology, we have enabled JD Convenience Store solution to integrate multiple store formats,” said Enlong Ba, general manager of retail business at JD New Markets. “In the future, our partners can freely select appropriate store functions according to neighborhood consumption demands combined with investment and profit considerations, and build diversified convenience store formats.”
JD Convenience Store is the offline innovative store brand under JD New Markets. It provides a one-stop solution to shop owners covering branding, design and management, supporting store location and product selection, operations and value added services, and more.
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