May 18, 2022|
JD Supports Trade-in Service of Appliances in Drive Greener Business
by Doris Liu
As a steadfast promoter of green consumption, JD.com has secured a leading position of home appliances in China not only by providing a wide range of products with superior full-service capabilities, but also by helping push forward the recycling economy in the form of trade-in services and more.
According to the National Development and Reform Commission, China’s household appliances ownership has exceeded 2.1 billion items, with an estimated scrappage volume of 200 million items in 2022.
A considerable number of families are still using home appliances that were bought during 2009 to 2011, when China had implemented trade-in policies to expand consumer demand and improve energy use efficiency. It is worth noting that air conditioners with a safe service life of 10 years are just entering the replacement cycle.
By replacing new energy-efficient products in a timely manner, safety hazards can be effectively eliminated and consumers’ energy expenses can be largely reduced as well. Data from the China National Institute of Standardization shows that the energy efficiency of air conditioners can drop by 40-50 percent after 10 years of use. Taking 1-HP inverter air conditioners as an example, new energy-efficient products can save nearly 40 percent of electricity compared with the old models which were manufactured 10 years ago.
JD has introduced a variety of stimulus steps to push consumers to replace appliances that are beyond their safe service life. For example, the trade-in service has been further simplified. Rather than following the industry’s valuation mechanism that is mainly based on product model and status, JD Home Appliances launched a one-price trade-in model in 2022, which allows customers to trade in their old appliances by selecting a specific product category. Each category has a fixed price, regardless of the product’s brand or status. The service has covered more than 95 percent of cities, counties and towns nationwide, and besides the subsidies for new purchase, customers also enjoy free dismantling and free transportation of the old appliances.
Promotions of energy-saving and emission-reducing products also help. Noting that the public’s consciousness of health and environmental protection has been strengthened with the demand for quality products, JD has also initiated rounds of promotions for energy-saving and innovative products.
The “2022 Air Conditioning Industry Trends Report” jointly released by JD Home Appliances and market consultancy All View Cloud shows that the domestic air conditioning industry retail sales in 2021 were down 1.2 percent year-on-year (YOY) at RMB 152.7 billion yuan, and the retail volume was down 8.7 percent YOY at 46.89 million items.
However, amid the overall decline, online sales of fresh air ventilation and air-conditioning integrated systems in 2021 rose 492.7 percent YOY at RMB 820 million yuan, said the report. JD.com’s sales of such products increased by more than six times YOY in 2021, as it had carried out an array of promotions and awareness-raising activities.
Through in-depth insights of the market, JD also provides brands with customers’ health needs to help the manufactures enhance R&D of the fresh air ventilation and air-conditioning integrated system, pushing for upgraded products.
JD Home Appliances has offered trade-in services since 2016, with more than 30 recycling categories such as large and small home appliances. According to the company’s calculation, the air conditioners, fridges and televisions with primary energy efficiency sold through JD.com in 2021 can reduce nearly 2 million tons of carbon emissions. Honored as the “Annual Influential Enterprise in Carbon Neutral Field” by domestic websites early this year, JD will continue to operate with the concept of cutting emissions through its businesses.
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.com Announces First Quarter 2022 Results
