by Ella Kidron

Chinese consumers’ embrace of products from domestic Chinese brands is increasing, according to a report by the JD Big Data Research Institute released on May 10.

Compared with international brands, the transaction volume growth of Chinese brands is 6% higher, while growth in consumers is over 18% higher, YOY. The highest ratio of consumption of domestic products is in sixth tier markets, but the appeal of Chinese brands to consumers in first to fifth tier cities is also rapidly increasing, among which the second tier cities are seeing the fastest growth.

“2020 is the year of the rise of domestic products,” explained Fei Dong of the JD Big Data Research Institute. “Chinese brands have given consumers a new “five senses” shopping experience.” Domestic products as a proportion of consumption has increased in small towns and big cities, underscoring a sense of identity. Furthermore, Chinese brands’ customization of products and services expressly for Chinese consumers has appealed to consumers’ quest for a sense of belonging.

The fact that post-’95 consumers and seniors are the driving force for consumption of domestic products is an indication of full recognition of the sense of value of Chinese products, while continued innovation and research, from design, packaging and experience, provides a sense of ceremony and ritual. Finally, the move from consumption of domestic products focused on livelihood to health, especially medical products, is emblematic of a sense of safety. Judging from category of sales growth rate of Top 100 brands, the medical and health sector performed particularly well, with an increase of 88% in the types of goods and 136% in the number of goods sold over the same period last year.

“All of this has contributed to the rapid raise of Chinese brands,” said Dong.

(ella@jd.com)

by Rachel Liu

JD held a Home Decoration Festival from Mar. 27^th to May 5^th, during which sales of doors, locks, wooden floor boards and more all saw growth. Traditionally March and April are the golden seasons for home decoration in China, and the trend has driven sales of home decoration products to rise on JD.

“Through the sales of the shopping festival, we observed that customers now have more demands on high-quality, customized products and thoughtful services,” said a spokesperson from JD Fashion and Lifestyle. “We will work together with both domestic and international brands to provide high-quality products for customers during the upcoming June 18 Shopping Festival.”

Furnishing Materials

White collar workers are the key customers of home furnishing materials, accounting for 80% of customers. This group likes to create a quiet, cozy and warm environment at home. Sales of soundproof doors increased 114% YOY during the period; and sales of fireplaces, gas heaters and underfloor heating increased nearly 50% YOY.

Many customers also choose to go back to their hometown to build villas for their family, and they can now order entire villas on JD too. One merchant called BoHome provides full service of design, renovation and decoration support for villas in the countryside. Sales of villas from BoHome increased over 70% YOY, and sales of the customized villa that BoHome developed with JD increased over 200% YOY.

Intelligent Home Furnishing Products

Sales of electronic locks increased over 70% YOY, and sales of intelligent family bathroom sets increased over 150% YOY. Smart toilets, bathroom mirrors and clothes hangers are also among the most popular products.

Products that feature cultural elements are also becoming more popular among customers. Forbidden City-themed furnishing products increased nearly 300% YOY, and British Museum themed products increased 15 times YOY.

Wedding Related and Seasonal Products

As many people choose to get married during the five-day Labor Day holiday, overall sales of wedding related products increased over 200% YOY. Within this category, sales of red wedding-style Chinese bedding products increased over 200% YOY, and wedding decoration items increased over 60% YOY.

The upcoming summer and increasing temperature is also driving sales of shower heads and shower room customization. Sales of shower heads increased nearly 60% YOY, and shower room customization service increased 100% YOY.

(liuchang61@jd.com)

by Ling Cao

JD Retail Cloud, a technology ecosystem aiming to benefit JD and external partners, participated in the inaugural of the China International Consumer Products Expo held in Haikou, Hainan province from May 7-10.

“JD Retail Cloud has already been opening up its capabilities externally, and we believe the expo is a great bridge to help us connect our digital solutions with overseas brands, helping enterprises, industries and institutions achieve digital transformation. Going forward, powered by technology, we will work together with partners to bring more value to the whole commerce industry,” said Dr. Paul Yan, Chairman of JD Retail Technology Committee.

JD Retail Cloud is an ecosystem that connects JD’s strength in technology, business, data and a large user base, combining its experience in the retail industry and opening these capabilities to external partners, expanding JD’s ecosystem and providing enterprises and institutions with integrated end-to-end services. Its fundamental product is the JD Polaris Operating System, a replicable system that improves the efficiency of the daily operations of the business.

Yan believes that digitalization and intelligent technology can bring major benefits to the industry, especially combined with JD’s years of experience in retail. Mainly, it can accelerate the launching of projects, and it can be applied in different scenarios with a flexible fundamental system, saving companies from duplicating work. With this goal, JD Retail released the technology service ecosystem specifically designed for the retail industry, JD Retail Cloud.

Onsite at the expo, visitors can enjoy an immersive experience by testing JD’s AR technologies for make-up application and trying on shoes, which are also under the whole ecosystem. They may simply scan a QR code to try these functions. Additionally, JD also displayed a mobile platform as a service (mPaaS) R&D platform and other solutions to help enterprises develop mobile platforms such as apps or mini programs, as well as building micro online malls, improving the customer experience.

Until now, thousands of merchants have registered to JD’s online mall SaaS program.

Using the integrated digital solutions, JD can help brands, institutions and industries increase efficiency and lower cost, promoting the digital economy.

“The system integrates three key capabilities of JD Retail and can be opened to our partners: the first is business operations capabilities, such as payment, supplier management, transaction and more. The second is customer management capability. We can help brands find targeted customers, introduce new customers and improve the penetration of their brand. The third is data capability, including data analysis, data asset management and more. We believe the system is highly valuable to the retail industry,” said Yan.

(ling.cao@jd.com)

by Ella Kidron

On May 7, JD Worldwide and the China Customs Media Center collectively hosted forum with the theme “The Future of Imports and the Role of E-commerce” at the first China International Consumer Expo (Hainan Expo) in Haikou, Hainan province.

Partners of JD Worldwide, including Yi Zheng, president of modeling agency esee, Jiannan Zeng CFO of media company H&R Century PICTURES Co., Ltd (欢瑞世纪) and Rebecca Wang, president of e-commerce business for Nestlé China were on the panel which was moderated by JD Worldwide head of brand marketing Xueying Shi.

During the forum, representatives discussed developments in pan-entertainment marketing, and how brands, marketing companies and platforms like JD.com and JD Worldwide can work together to further develop the sector.

From left to right: Xueying Shi of JD Worldwide; Yi Zheng of esee; Jiannan Zeng of H&R Century PICTURES Co. Ltd.; and Rebecca Wang of Nestlé China

One of the trends discussed is that brands’ product to market time is shortening in response to rapidly changing consumer demands. Wang explained that the starting point for all consumer products is consumer demand. Catering to consumer demand is part of the reason for shrinking the product “bring-to-market” lifecycle from 12-18 months to 6-9 months. This also means getting ahead of consumer demand. Wang cited the example of plant meat and other plant-based food products, which are burgeoning in popularity in China as consumers place more emphasis on their health and wellness.

Another example is adult milk powder, which is moving from a focus on full-fat, low-fat, and skim to entirely different formulas to cover specific functionalities addressing osteoporosis, cardiovascular problems, diabetes, and more, in response to China’s rapidly aging population.

One of the keys to successfully bringing a hit product to market is rapid customer feedback. Platforms like JD are able to provide brands with immediate feedback on product performance, which also goes into informing how the product should be tailored or iterated on.

Finally, interaction between customer and brand is getting more attention. While Zheng spoke about how models can get involved in livestream e-commerce which also ties the brand closer to consumers who are fans of the model. This is beneficial for modeling agencies, helping them address the fact that models may not be fully occupied every minute of each day, providing additional revenue streams. On the other hand, Zeng of H&R explained that working with international brands and connecting them with popular IP serves to appeal directly to consumers, especially young consumers.

Shi from JD Worldwide spoke to the emergence of a relatively new pan-entertainment marketing model which uses the medium of celebrities and other talent to shorten the distance between brands and customers, while also being able to provide timely feedback customer feedback to brands leveraging platforms like JD Worldwide, helping address some supply chain bottlenecks and better grasp consumer trends.

JD Worldwide also released a trends report on imports consumption in China at the event.

(ella@jd.com)