Jan 6, 2021|
JD Empowers Small Business Owners
by Kelly Dawson
For many brick and mortar stores, 2020 was a test. Droves of Chinese customers went online for the first time, and stayed online even as life began to normalize when the virus was brought under control. For Li Yao, the owner of a convenience store in Chengdu, Sichuan province, his decision to work with JD’s social e-commerce platform Jingxi three years ago proved essential in not only surviving but thriving in a year that saw many offline stores hit hard.
In 2017, Li and his wife were struggling to generate a daily turnover of even a few thousand yuan; and found the work of running the store to be tiring and inefficient. Using a notebook, Li painstakingly noted down daily transactions and calculations, marking products that needed to be restocked, what to buy next, and where he might find the best price. Worse, this process was often inaccurate and difficult to predict, resulting in expired products at the end of some months. Sometimes customers requested popular products that were still en route from the warehouse, and walked out empty-handed.
Li knew that this wasn’t sustainable. He scoured local information about other brand stores to which he might attach his business, but ultimately found that the product selection and prices weren’t to his advantage—until he learned about the opportunity to work with JD’s Jingxi platform, which empowers small business owners.
Li contacted the local account manager, a man named Xiao Jiang, and within a few minutes, had decided to do business with JD.
According to Xiao, Li’s problems are exactly what JD’s empowerment platform is set up to address, with a complete set of intelligent solutions and professional team guidance to improve the efficiency of the store. As Li began working with JD, Xiao visited the store often to provide guidance on how to set up display shelves, how to place orders on the JD shopkeeper app, which products to select, and more.
As a member of the post-1990s generation, Li quickly learned the ropes. “After he showed me how to place the orders, I received the goods the next day in the store. I now have a wider selection of snack foods and popular products to choose from, and it’s the fastest way to stock the store.”
JD provides a smart “butler” store management system and automatic replenishment system, cutting away all the tedious processes that Li had previously struggled with while running the store.
“There are smart recommendations for hot products, and it reminds you when replenishment is needed,” Li said. “The system will also recommend to eliminate products that sit in the store for too long, so you don’t continue to buy slow-moving products. In this way, through the automatic adjustment of the smart product stock, the store continues to do better and better business.”
Li’s store has also transitioned to an omnichannel structure, enabling the store to reach more customers and increase revenues. Xiao helped Li navigate the process of opening a JD Convenience GO mini program for the store. Now, when a customer comes to the store, they will receive a notification of discounts that are available, and be reminded that they can order the product to be delivered directly to their home.
“The future development of shopping will definitely be a combination of online and offline,” Xiao said. “Having a mini program is the equivalent of having an online store for free.”
After linking his business to the mini program, Li’s store gained 500-600 new customers during the 11.11 Grand Promotion. These days, Li’s store easily generates RMB 10,000 yuan in daily sales, compared to his previous daily maximum of a few thousand, before he began working with JD.
“After working with JD, it’s not only my business that has undergone major changes—it’s also my thinking,” Li said. “JD has brought a lot to me, and therefore to my customers, thanks to high-quality products, and a strong store management system that enables me to meet consumers’ changing needs.”
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 and ThundeRobot-Sponsored ACE College League (ACL) Concludes
