by Ella Kidron

With the uptick in COVID-19 cases, many people working in China’s tier-1 cities, namely Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen (colloquially known as Bei-Shang-Guang-Shen),  will spend their Chinese New Year holiday in the city where they work, rather than traveling elsewhere, such as to their hometowns. As JD Data indicates, however, this safety precaution has not precluded these people, from appreciating family and friends from afar.

Since New Year’s Day, to today, remote orders (defined as orders where the sender and recipient city differ) sent from Beijing had increased 52% YOY. Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen had seen remote orders increase 37%, 36% and 31% respectively. In Beijing, alcohol, tea, milk and other beverages, seafood, meat and condiments lead the pack, at least doubling YOY. In Shanghai, alcohol, seafood, and mid-to-high end candies and chocolates had at least quadrupled. In Guangzhou, top products include beverages, candy and chocolates, smoked meats, and more, where as in Shenzhen, white tea, cookies and cakes, drink mixes and milk that needs to be refrigerated are the top sellers.

It is clear that family members far away also want to let their children in the big cities know they are thinking about them. This is indicated by the fact that Beijing is the top city in China in terms of receipt of remote orders, many of which consist of local delicacies from across the country.

With the newly emerging COVID-19 cases, it is no surprise that remote orders placed for rice, flour, oil and other essentials are seeing a 30-50% increase in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, as people separated by distance seek peace of mind in knowing their loved ones will be able to get what they need.

For the ninth consecutive year, JD Logistics has committed to delivering throughout the Chinese New Year holiday period ensuring consumers can celebrate safely no matter where they are.

 

 

(ella@jd.com)

 

by Vivian Yang

Nearly 300 offline stores in Wuhan, Hubei province joined an omnichannel marketing campaign launched by JD and China’s tissue giant Vinda. The campaign started on Jan. 19, ahead of Chinese New Year.

Knowns as “JD Super Citywide Shopping” (超级全城购), the campaign is the first project of JD’s upgraded ominichannel strategy which aims to further integrate brand-led marketing activities into JD’s ecosystem, especially its offline merchants community.

No matter if customers prefer to shop in brick-and-mortar stores or on JD’s online platforms, such as JDDJ (a local on-demand retail platform), SEVEN FRESH(JD’s omnichannel supermarket）or the company’s social e-commerce apps, they will enjoy the same promotions and one-hour delivery service for orders placed online.

“We hope to help brands to increase touch points with customers,” said a spokesperson of the project. “The omnichannel format can also provide customers with more worry-free shopping experiences.”

JD is committed to provide delivery services for its customers during the upcoming Chinese New Year holiday from Feb. 11 to 18. The company has collaborated with a number of leading retail chains in China including Walmart, Better Life, Hualian and more, to provide one-hour delivery service for frequently-needed products during the holidays, such as fresh groceries, medicine and healthcare products, personal care and cosmetics, consumer electronics and more.

 

(vivian.yang@jd.com)

by Ella Kidron

From Jan. 17 to Feb. 5, JD Fresh is offering discounts on a selection of items that consumers need to celebrate the Chinese New Year holiday, including Laba festival, no matter where in the country they are. JD Super, JD’s omnichannel supermarket is also offering several perks during the Chinese New Year Grand Promotion.

Around China many consumers love to enjoy a bowl of Laba congee (腊八粥), a custom that dates back to the Song Dynasty. Laba Festival, which falls on Jan. 20 this year, is celebrated on the eighth day of the 12^th month of the lunar calendar (“la” is the name of the twelfth month of the lunar year and eight is “ba” in Mandarin). For many, it signifies the imminent arrival of Chinese New Year.

Laba congee includes a rich list of ingredients: diversified rice (glutinous rice, oats, corns etc.), beans (soy beans, mung beans, kidney beans, cowpeas etc.), dried nuts (chestnuts, almonds, peanuts, etc.), bean curd and meat. Melon seeds, lotus seeds, pine nuts, sugar, and other preserved fruits are added to make the congee even more flavorful. The dish is regarded as nutritious for the winter, as it is said to strengthen the spleen, stimulate appetite and soothe nerves.

JD Super is providing specials on all sorts of mixed grains, which promise to make Laba congee delicious. Office workers who don’t have time to make congee themselves, can turn to cans of pre-made Laba congee instead. In addition, JD’s membership store, One’s Member (一号店), is providing discounts on different kinds of nuts, to make Laba congee extra tasty.

Pre-made Laba congee

Just as it is with zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) enjoyed during Dragon Boat festival and mooncakes for Mid-Autumn festival, Laba festival traditions differ between north and south. In the north of the country, people will make Laba garlic (garlic soaked in vinegar) to be enjoyed with dumplings when the Spring Festival comes. In the south, such as in Anhui province, people will enjoy tofu which can be eaten alone or stewed and fried with meat, and even dried shrimp as well as other ingredients. Some areas still have the habit of eating Laba meat( 腊八肉).

Laba garlic

JD One’s Member promotion poster, forming Chinese characters for Laba with high quality ingredients

During this year’s Chinese New Year Grand Promotion, JD is keeping its promise to deliver throughout the holiday, as it has for nine consecutive years. Consumers in 30 provinces, 300 cities and 1,500 districts and towns can enjoy painless delivery right to their doorsteps.

 

 

(ella@jd.com)

by Martin Li

Italian fashion brand Marni launched a flagship store on JD’s e-commerce platform on January 20.

The online store is bringing to Chinese consumers the brand’s early spring collections for women including long dresses.

“JD is a well-recognized and trustworthy platform, which offers a complete solution regarding buyers, merchandise and scenarios, as well as a massive and mature sales system,” said a Marni spokesperson.

Innovative and multifaceted, Marni is recognized all over the world for its luxury ready-to-wear and accessories collections made in Italy.

The aesthetic paradigm of the brand reflects the vision of creative director Francesco Risso and it is characterized by an experimental approach to materials and colors, and a unique flair for mixing prints and shapes. Marni’s subtle and elegant design celebrates individuality through a rigorous yet subversive language.

The brand is popular with young Chinese consumers.

 

(bjlihao3@jd.com)

by Ling Cao

JD announced a premium store list of 2020 on Jan. 19, which is based on products’ quality, delivery speed, enquiry-solving ability, as well as after-sale service. JD will provide these stores with subsidies and resources, such as four free marketing events in 2021. The list could also serve as a shopping guide for JD’s customers.

Based on the scoring system, stores on the list performed 51% higher than that of the average stores in the above four criteria, providing customers with a better shopping experience.

Shangyuantang Drug Store on JD is on the list. According to the store head Lei Shen, this store responded quickly very early in the outbreak early last year, and prepared abundant masks and other medical supplies. When customers began desperately searching for the items online, Shangyuantang didn’t raise prices by even a penny, despite the price hike of raw materials. Due to good customer service and its commitment to ensuring the livelihood of customers, the store got a 100% satisfaction rating from hundreds of thousands of customers.

The premium store list covers integrated categories for various stores on JD, such as Bayer for healthcare products, Durex, Nestle, TCL for home appliances and daily necessities, GAEMIN for watches, and cosmetics from Perfect Diary.

Other stores on the list also performed well. For example, Puppy home appliance store on JD launched a central after-sale service in the industry for the first time, offering customers free repairs and trade-in service even if the product has been damaged by customers.

“JD aims to optimize the business environment by providing resources and support for high quality merchants, promoting their business to be larger and stronger, and providing customers with more premium products,” Feng Zhang, head of marketplace business at JD said, “JD will continue to promote governance innovation, joining hands with merchants together to build a new ecosystem in retail.”

 

(ling.cao@jd.com)