by Kelly Dawson

JD’s online supermarket JD Super has joined hands with Safeguard, a brand selling antibacterial products under Procter & Gamble, to launch charity activities to raise awareness of proper hand-washing standards, install hand-washing stations and protect children’s health in mountainous areas across China.

The initiative was launched in response to a recent survey conducted by the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, which revealed that 9 out of 10 people in China are incorrectly washing their hands, a worrying statistic as the fight against COVID-19 continues. The project aims to reach 100 million people by 2025.

Zhong Nanshan, a renowned epidemiologist and one of TIME’s list of 100 most influential people of 2020 for his efforts in combatting COVID-19, said of the initiative: “I support Safeguard’s health education and public welfare campaign, and call on more consumers to participate to jointly contribute to China’s health education.”

So far, Safeguard has already installed 957 hand-washing and hand-sanitizing stations in 248 schools in 10 provinces including Anhui, Gansu, Liaoning and others, benefiting approximately 110,000 children.

In a new phase of the project, customers who purchased Safeguard products through JD Super online on Christmas day, December 25^th, will be eligible to apply for a position on one of Safeguard’s upcoming volunteer missions to mountainous areas, for the chance to experience first-hand the fulfillment of giving back to rural communities. Participants will work closely with children in local communities, raising awareness of hand-washing standards while traveling to more remote areas.

Additionally, customers who searched for “Safeguard” products on the JD Super store between December 23-25 were given the option to apply for certification to become a “Health Delivery Ambassador” for Safeguard, guaranteeing hand-washing facilities for one child per application.

Safeguard will continue its efforts to reach 100 million people over the next four years.

(Kellydawson@jd.com)

by Ling Cao

JD.com has cooperated with small business owners to open JD convenience stores inside several airports, providing an easier shopping experience for travelers.

A store cashier surnamed Xu working at JD’s convenience store at the Xi’an Xianyang International Airport, shared, “As a local Xi’aner, I want to provide the best service, because for those first-time travelers to Xi’an, the store could be their first impression, while for workers inside the airport, the store could be a harbor for them to take a break.”

Before upgrading to a JD convenience store, the store in Xian’s airport mainly sold a local specialty product, with daily sales totaling only several thousand yuan. After cooperating with JD since last May, sales increased five to six times daily on average.

The store remains cost-effective among markets though it’s inside an airport, and provides a range of services tailored for travelers, including providing hot water, a microwave oven, a rest area and charging services.

The store is located on the arrival floor and is around 100 square meters. “There are few people who will buy local specialties upon arrival, so a convenience store model is more suitable,” said Mr. Wang, a local manager at JD New Markets. “More importantly, there are no other convenience stores located here.”

Leveraging JD’s expertise in store management, from product selection to store decoration, as well as launching a JD Convenience Go WeChat mini program, JD has helped equip the store owner with necessary knowledge to manage the upgraded convenience store. Ms Xu said, “Previously I don’t think customers would have the demand for online orders, but since JD recommended that we create a mini program, employees at the airports can now enjoy doorstep service.” In fact, the store has received a lot of online orders since launching the service, and is popular among airport employees.

JD has been continuously making innovations in store management and expanding the range of shopping scenarios. Besides Xi’an, JD has expanded the convenience store model in other airports, including Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport.

(ling.cao@jd.com)

by Rachel Liu

JD Super, JD’s online supermarket, and Ferrero, a popular Italian chocolate brand, will join hands to better target young customers and the high-end consumption market in China, providing them more high-quality chocolate products through innovative activities and campaigns.

“We are excited to achieve deeper partnership with Ferrero, a brand widely popular on JD,” said Xiaojun Wang, general manager of packaged foods, JD FMCG. “We will work with Ferrero in three main fields. The first is omnichannel marketing – we would like to help Ferrero reach young customers with more precision. The second is customized products to help the brand create hot-selling products through JD’s big data. JD’s C2M initiative can largely shorten the launch period of new products for brands. The third is to expand online to offline sales channels, bringing premium shopping experiences to more customers in all scenarios.”

Mario Gabbi, sales director of Ferrero China said: “We hope to work deeper with JD Super on leveraging big data to create new products which can fit Chinese customers’ needs, and jointly launch richer activities such as a Ferrero brand festival, bringing more sweetness to Chinese consumers.”

Founded by Michele Ferrero in 1946, Ferrero is famous for its delicious chocolate products, especially the iconic hazelnut wafer chocolate. The branded entered Chinese market in 1980s, and soon was welcomed by its consumers. Ferrero started to work with JD in 2015 and achieved annual sales of over RMB 100 million yuan.

(liuchang61@jd.com)

by Ling Cao

JD opened a new SEVEN FRESH store at the Joy City shopping mall in Daxing district, Beijing today. In addition to the omnichannel sales operations, a wide range of high quality fresh food and daily necessities selections, the store included two special experience areas. One is the SEVEN FUN WINE and another is the SEVEN FRESH Market, a lifestyle space which is decorated according to a special theme to attract customers.

SEVEN FUN WINE has been designed as a causal and relaxed place to enjoy wine, in addition to shop for it. Consumers can taste wine and select from products of all different price ranges, from accessible to high-end. The area is painted different colors of wine, such as ruby red, fuchsia, and garnet red.

SEVEN FUN WINE area

SEVEN FRESH Market gathers food, catering, family entertainment and home furnishing in one place. It is decorated in a Chinese traditional temple fair theme, making the place a crossover between modern city and Chinese culture.

SEVEN FRESH MARKET area

A representative at JD’s SEVEN FRESH said, “SEVEN FUN WINE and SEVEN FRESH Market are two examples, which work as blocks to fit into SEVEN FRESH stores, providing customers with a fresh and diverse shopping experience. It’s not just a place for shopping. We are more willing to create a causal atmosphere and lifestyle for our customers.”

(ling.cao@jd.com)

by Martin Li

Young Chinese have been increasingly going after time-honored Chinese brands, according to a survey by JD Big Data Research Institute.

People born in and after 1995 are the fast-growing group on JD’s e-commerce platform, buying traditional Chinse brands. Among the brands are 247-year-old Beijing-based Daoxiangcun Bakery and 117-year-old Dong Lai Shun restaurant.

 The number of time-honored brands which expanded online this year via JD is more than double that of last year. They have also been developing innovative products and services to meet young people’s demands.

Young people’s growing love of time-honored brands is one of the consumer trends released in a recent survey by the research institute.

This year saw an increase in home-related consumption by people born in and after 1995, including fresh produce, home appliances and daily necessities. This trends can be attributed to the pandemic which confined people to home for a long time.

The pandemic encouraged more people to cook at home. The first quarter of this year saw sales of cooking utensils like baking ovens, egg mixers and air fryers grow over three times.

Young people’s consumption of health-related products and services also jumped over two times this year, reflecting their increasing awareness of health.

In terms of other popular products, people have spent more on signature local farm produces and localities, including rice from northeast China.

Luoshifen, a Chinese noodle soup and specialty of Liuzhou, Guangxi, has maintained its popularity. Its sales on JD increased over three times this year.

(bjlihao3@jd.com)