Oct 20, 2023|
JD.com to Kick Off 2023 Singles Day Grand Promotion on October 23, Showcasing Genuine Low Prices
JD.com announced its 2023 Singles’ Day Grand Promotion will kick off on October 23rd at 8 p.m. This year’s promotion aims to exceed expectations by offering a wide range of products readily available for immediate purchase, doing away with the traditional pre-sales. With price guarantees covering over 800 million products for 30 days, shoppers can rest assured they are getting the best deals.
At the heart of this year’s shopping festival is JD’s commitment to providing customers with exceptional value in response to customers’ growing appetite for cost-efficiency shopping. As part of this commitment, JD.com is offering cross-store discounts of RMB 50 yuan for every 299 yuan spent. Additionally, a first-come, first-served basis subsidy of 20 yuan will be available. JD’s “10-billion-yuan Discount” program this year boasts twice the number of participating products compared to the mid-year JD 618 Grand Promotion.
Lijun Xin, CEO of JD Retail, emphasized JD’s long-standing commitment to providing genuine low prices compromising quality. “By conducting honest operations and continually optimizing the supply chain, JD aims to pass on the savings achieved through utmost efficiency to its users and partners, said Xin. “This approach not only stimulates consumption but also invigorates the market with truly affordable prices.”
Starting from 8 p.m. on October 23rd, JD’s “Price Guarantee” Will Cover Over 800 Million Products
To ensure customer convenience, JD will kick off the Grand Promotion at 8 p.m., a practice established since 2021 so that customers do not need to stay up late. Once again, JD breaks industry norms this year by making a vast array of products available for immediate purchase as soon as the sale commences on October 23rd. Shoppers can directly order sought-after items such as the iPhone 15, Wuliangye liquor, SK-II facial treatment essence, and more, ensuring quick delivery without any deposits or pre-sale wait periods.
Customers making purchases between 8 p.m. on October 23rd and midnight on November 13th will benefit from JD’s price guarantee service for 30 days or even longer.
During the Grand Promotion, the company is set to roll out a plethora of enticing promotional activities. Highlights include the “Super Flash Sale,” offering 50% discounts on electronics, and the opportunity for shoppers to purchase best-selling items for only 1 yuan. The “10-billion yuan Discount Day” guarantees free shipping on all orders, a double compensation feature if a more affordable price is spotted elsewhere, and the chance for consumers to buy the iPhone 15 at half price. There will also be a special “JD Plus Day” dedicated to providing low prices for premium and popular products exclusively available to JD Plus members, among other exciting offers.
“10-billion-yuan Discount” Program Doubles Offerings from 618 Promotion
Throughout this year, JD.com has intensified its focus on affordability, pioneering several initiatives like the “10-billion-yuan Discount” program, “9.9-Yuan Items with Free Shipping” channel, and “Double the Price Difference” guarantee, as well as lowering the free shipping threshold to RMB 59. The Spring Dawn Plan further propelled JD.com’s outreach, enticing a surge of new merchants, thereby expanding product offerings for consumers.
Merchant participation for this year’s Singles Day has increased 1.5 times compared to last year. The offerings under the “10-billion-yuan Discount” program have doubled since the 618 Grand Promotion in June. More, JD will also collaborate with over 2,000 special agricultural product sources and industrial belts in China to bring consumers high-quality agricultural goods. Additionally, during the Singles Day sales period, shoppers will see the introduction of over 500 million new products.
Tens of thousands of offline stores in JD’s omni-channel ecosystem, including JD Mall, JD Home, 7Fresh Supermarket, JD Auto, and more, are set to partake in the sales, ensuring varied consumer needs are adeptly addressed across multiple channels.
One-hour Delivery and Expedited Logistics in Hong Kong and Macau
JD Logistics recently upgraded its express delivery service in both Hong Kong and Macau, offering residents accelerated self-operated intra-city and cross-border delivery services. With the debut of JD Express in these regions, customers can look forward to receiving their JD.com orders swiftly, delivered by JD’s dedicated couriers right to their doorsteps, with orders from Hong Kong often fulfilled by the next day.
JD’s on-demand retail business, JD Daojia, will partner with over 400,000 physical stores to provide consumers across more than 2,000 counties and districts with “free shipping and delivery within hours across all product categories”, ensuring they have immediate access to a plethora of high-quality, cost-effective products.
Apr 29, 2024|
JD.com Teams Up with Brands to Launch “Trade-in Alliance for Household Appliances and Home Goods”
JD.com recently announced the “Trade-in Alliance for Household Appliances and Home Goods” in collaboration with over 100 renowned brands. This initiative, unveiled on April 27, aims to expand and enhance trade-in services across China and has already been successfully implemented in 20 provinces and cities.
The Trade-in Alliance allows consumers to access JD’s trade-in services for an extensive range of products, covering over 200 subcategories including TVs, refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, and more. The initiative caters to a growing demand, with more than 16 million users leveraging JD’s platform since 2023 to exchange their old household items for new ones. This represents a 200 percent increase in first-time users year-on-year.
To further enhance the customer experience, JD.com has introduced the “Three Free & Four Unlimited” trade-in service. This service includes complimentary door-to-door pickup, disassembly, and handling of old goods. Additionally, it places no restrictions on the trade-in items regarding their original purchase channel, brand, age, or condition. With just four simple clicks on the JD app, users can receive generous discounts from their old goods and enjoy the convenience of JD’s one-stop trade-in services.
JD.com also utilizes its logistical strengths to extend these services to even the most remote areas of China. For instance, customers living in Tibet at an elevation of 4,300 meters can now easily access JD’s trade-in options, including doorstep delivery and recycling of old appliances.
The Trade-in Alliance is built on six foundational pillars: service capabilities, brand support, marketing initiatives, industry chain synergies, omni-channel development, and category cooperation. By fostering closer partnerships with leading brands in the household appliance and home goods sectors, JD.com is setting a new standard for hassle-free trade-in services, offering unparalleled convenience and value to consumers nationwide.
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.
JD Logistics Expands Self-Operated Express Delivery Business in Hong Kong and Macau
