Apr 17, 2020|
JD Reading Report: an Overview of 2019 and Trends during COVID-19
by Ling Cao
JD released a report this week that reveals insights into Chinese consumer book purchasing habits in 2019 and during the epidemic. Here are some key trends:
- Mid and lower tier markets are driving sales
- Hot topics and current events impact sales
- While many people stayed at home, children’s books, literature, education and calligraphy have become “must have” categories.
In 2019, the highest sales were derived from three book categories including children’s books, literature and education. In 2019, although tier 1-2 markets were still key markets driving book purchases, mid and lower tier markets became increasingly prominent, especially in the central China region, where Hubei province (epicenter of the epidemic) had the fastest sales growth y-o-y.
The purchasing preference for printing and digital books rose simultaneously. Based on data from JD and third party research institutions, 94.1% of China’s online readers read digital books; 77% of them read printing books; 64.1% of them will listen to audio books; finally, 55.6% read magazines or newspapers.
Customers read for different purposes, with 60.1% of them reading for self-improvement, 40% for career development, 36.2% for exams prep or articles, and 36.1% for their children’s education.
Regarding how they spend their money to read, data indicates that in 2019, 25.5% of them pay RMB 501-1000 and 22.6% of them pay RMB 301-500 accounting for most of the customers. While over a half of all customers bought 4-10 books in total, 14.6% of customers bought over 20 books. Regarding basket size, customers in the 26-35 years age bracket grew fastest y-o-y. .
Customers from mid and lower tier markets show greater interaction when purchasing books, tending to write more comments after making purchases, 35% higher than those from tier 1-2 markets. Comments include “recommended by colleagues, friends and teachers”. Overall, we saw the sales gap between mid to lower tier markets and tier 1-2 markets gradually narrow.
The coronavirus kept people at home and drove them to buy books online. From January to March 2020, book sales on JD increased significantly y-o-y. The book categories that saw the fastest increase includes educational supplements, children’s books, and science. Other categories include finance, history, home furnishing, and biographies. Interestingly, customers are buying more calligraphy books than ever before. Similarly, medical and healthcare, and psychology books increase by 20% and 3% in February, respectively; and, 48% and 25% in March, respectively.
Jan 11, 2025|
JD Super Honored as 2024 “Annual Responsible Brand” by CHINA PHILANTHROPIST for Mother and Baby Care Initiatives
On January 8th, JD Super, the supermarket division of JD.com, received the esteemed “Annual Responsible Brand” award from China Philanthropist magazine for 2024. This recognition underscores JD Super’s dedication to social responsibility and its impactful contributions to the maternal and infant health sector.
Focused Support for Mothers in Ethnic Village Communities
In 2024, JD Super’s mother and baby team spearheaded a series of charitable initiatives. In April, they collaborated with 40 maternal, infant, and toy brands to launch a charity donation campaign. The first donation reached 1,000 newborn families in Xide County, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, a mountainous area in Southwest China, providing essential baby items like diapers, formula, and skincare products.
This initiative expanded to support mothers in ethnic villages across Sichuan, Qinghai, and Guizhou. To date, these efforts have resulted in donations exceeding 1.3 million RMB in maternal and infant supplies.
Additionally, JD Super has provided e-commerce skills training to local mothers, empowering them to market traditional crafts such as embroidery and Thangka online. This has helped increase their income and alleviate their families’ financial burdens.
Innovative and Reliable Services to Reduce Parenting Costs
Beyond charitable efforts, JD Super remains committed to offering comprehensive, high-quality, and cost-effective parenting products and services to new parents.
On January 12, 2024, JD Super, in partnership with 17 brands, launched the industry’s first “Caring for Families: Free Diaper Donation” initiative. This program supplies free diapers for newborns and premature infants to participating families, enabling them to experience premium products while easing financial strain. To date, the initiative has partnered with 48 maternal and infant brands, distributing 388 diaper varieties to 1.18 million families, saving each household over 1,000 RMB.
In 2023, JD Super introduced the “Allergy-Free” testing service, offering free samples and low-cost trials of baby care products to help families test and avoid allergic reactions. This service now encompasses over 7,000 products from more than 200 brands.
JD Super’s “First Baby Bottle Plan” provides high-quality newborn bottles at a 50% discount through brand partnerships for underwriting online sales, benefiting 300,000 families in 2024 by reducing parenting costs.
To meet the demand for fresh and nutritious formula, JD Super offers a “farm to bottle” direct delivery program, ensuring products reach consumers within 28 days of production to preserve freshness for healthy baby growth. Additional services such as diaper size exchanges, rash-free guarantees, safe baby food trials, and allergy-free options cover over 90% of JD Super’s self-operated mother and baby products, consistently delivering high-quality, affordable products and attentive services to customers.
(vivian.yang@jd.com)
Luxury Brands Find New Avenue on JD during COVID-19
