by Ling Cao

JD saw sales surge via JD’s livestream initiatives during the Double 12 Shopping Festival (Dec. 1-12). Sales generated through JD Live, JD’s livestreaming platform, increased 10 times YOY. The top five areas by sales were Shanghai, Beijing, Guangdong, Sichuan and Jiangsu.

During the 12-day period, JD livestream viewers increased 16 times YOY, and merchants who participated JD’s livestream increased 280% YOY. The top three categories for livestream initiatives were consumer goods, home appliance and home furnishing. The healthcare-related products and services category was among the top growth rate categories, exceeding JD’s own expectations.

Double 12 Shopping Festival results indicate a preference for personal and family care products among the younger generations. JD data showed that post-1990s consumers in Beijing frequently bought milk formula, and nearly 50% of customers who placed personal care orders where in this age group.

Other categories also performed well. Kitchenware sales increased 19 times YOY, sports and healthcare products sales increased 194% YOY, and book sales increased 5 times YOY.

(ling.cao@jd.com)

by Rachel Liu

JD will help the industrial belts in the city of Pu’er, Yunan province to achieve digital transformation. Pu’er is a city with rich natural resources and famous for producing globally popular Pu’er tea.

JD and Pu’er city jointly built the Pu’er cultural and tourism industry belt, to make better use of its tourism resources; and the JD Fresh operation center in Yunan province to speed up the development of the fresh food belt of Yunan. JD and ten leading tea companies in Pu’er also established the JD High Quality Pu’er Tea Alliance, and launched a direct sourcing base for organic Pu’er tea.

For the cooperation on tourism, JD will assist the development of the Pu’er tourism industry through building an online store, conduct joint brand marketing campaigns and provide resources and traffic, to help the local tourism industry achieve digital transformation.

The JD Fresh operation center will integrate high-quality supply chains in Yunnan province to empower local merchants and industries. JD Fresh will open a “green channel” for fresh food of Pu’er and provide trainings for merchants, helping to further develop omnichannel sales scenarios.

The direct sourcing base of organic Pu’er tea and the JD High Quality Pu’er Tea Alliance will focus on digitalization. JD will also help Yunan province with poverty alleviation, leveraging JD’s platform and resources, and empower agriculture companies with operations and marketing capabilities in every step from production to sales.

Supporting different industries and enterprises to achieve digital transformation has been a key goal for JD. JD Cloud & AI has also helped the city of Jiujiang, Jiangxi province to build online stores to promote its popular products, and hold livestreams with local brands. JD plans to build a digital economy industrial park in the city to provide infrastructure and technological support to local businesses.

(liuchang61@jd.com)

by Rachel Liu

Customers in Tianjin, Nanjing, Wuxi, Dongguan and Foshan can now shop with Yihaodian (No.1 store), the first online membership-only retail platform in China.

When it was first launched in August, Yihaodian covered four cities and two provinces, namely Shanghai, Shenzhen, Beijing, and Guangzhou, and Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces.

Yihaodian also announced that it will expand its cross-border business. With JD’s supply chain advantages, Yihaodian’s experienced buyers will select high-quality products from around the world, providing a premium shopping experience to members.

“We are excited to bring Yihaodian’s products and shopping experience to more cities in China.” said Yihu Dai, head of Yihaodian: “I believe our selected products, competitive prices and convenient shopping experience will surely capture the hearts of customers in those cities. Expanding to cross-border products will also enable Yihaodian to provide more diversified choices for our customers.”

The upgraded Yihaodian is targeted at middle-class family customers who demand high-quality products with competitive prices, from groceries to fresh food, digital products, consumer goods, lifestyle products and more. Yihaodian has a group of professional buyers, most of whom have over five years of experience in their respective categories. The first party model can give customers peace of mind when shopping.

JD Logistics provides same-and-next day delivery for Yihaodian to ensure the quality of delivery service. Other services that ensure a high-quality customer experience include “membership fee insurance,” which means if a customer place over 12 orders in one year and the money they saved (compared with JD prices) is lower than the money they paid for the membership fee, Yihaodian will provide a full refund of the membership fee; as well as 24/7 customer service, refunds of orders with damaged packages, special discounts for new members and more, providing a better and more economical shopping choice for the growing population of middle-class customers in China.

(liuchang61@jd.com)

by Ella Kidron

JD will open a home appliance flagship store in Suzhou, a major city in southeastern Jiangsu province, this month. The store, which is located at Phoenix Square in Suzhou, is a 10,000 square-meter experience space. It further strengthens JD’s omnichannel presence in Jiangsu province, and builds on the company’s overall omnichannel electronics strategy.

The store aims to appeal to Suzhou consumers’ tendency to buy new, high-end and tech-forward products. During the trial period (which overlapped with the 12.12 Shopping Festival), the average price of mobile phones has been RMB 4,000 yuan, with the Huawei Mate RS Porsche Design and iPhone 12 being very popular. Smart home solutions, specialized laundry machines, refrigerators and sweeping robots among other household appliances focused on improving livelihood are all top sellers.

With a large e-sports experience area on the first floor, there has been a steady flow of young consumers looking to “play another round.” Xili Tang, manager of the store, said: “A lot of young people come in. In addition to e-sports equipment and Xbox and other gaming decides, trendy digital products that can’t be found elsewhere such as DJI drones, NineBot go-karts and smart wearables are particularly popular.” Consumers can receive professional guidance on products such as curling irons, and have their hair permed on the spot, according to Tang.

E-Sports experience zone in JD Home Appliance Flagship in Suzhou

JD Home Appliance stores are based on the idea that there are some products consumers prefer to look at, touch and test before purchasing. Consumers are able to try nearly everything in store and can either take purchases home or have them delivered to their address of choice, thanks to JD’s strong supply chain and logistics network. In the Suzhou store, 30 experience zones allow consumers to experience the latest technology. There are 8K TV, advanced air conditioner and air freshener, whole house smart home solution and laundry experience areas among others. Providing such experiences allows consumers to get fully-acquainted with all aspects of products before making a purchase decision.

JD has opened several home appliance flagship stores this year, including one in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, Jiaozuo, Henan province, and most recently, Kunming, Yunnan province on Singles Day (Nov. 11). Earlier this year, the retail giant announced a plan to open 20 JD E-Space Experience Stores (large scale, around 50,000 square meters) in first tier cities, as well as 300 home appliance flagship stores in second and third tier cities on a “one-city-one-store basis”, and 5,000 stores in towns and villages by 2025.

(ella@jd.com)

by Hui Zhang

JD.com announced plans to sign a cooperation agreement with XDS Shenzhen Xidesheng Bicycles, a leading Chinese bicycle company, on Dec. 11, promising to sponsor 100 mountain bike and road bike races to be held by Xidesheng in 2021 and to explore omnichannel cooperation in various areas.

According to data from China Bicycle Association, there are nearly 20 million cycling enthusiasts in China, with cycling becoming increasingly popular among Chinese people. Through the cooperation, consumers who want to participate in offline bike races organized by Xidesheng can easily complete registration through JD’s online event registration system.

“At present, cycling races in China, especially events for the mass public, are developing rapidly and people are enthusiastic about such racing events,” said Weilong Tan, chairman of XDS Shenzhen Xidesheng Bicycles.

“The cooperation with JD for the 2021 events also aims to inspire people to actively participate through the integration of online and offline experiences,” he said.

In addition to cooperation on racing events, both sides also participated in a trial to provide one-stop service online in Shenzhen. Now offering bicycle purchase and application of license plates online, consumers in Shenzhen can receive a brand new electronic bicycle at home with a single click on the JD app. Xidesheng also launched a new bicycle exclusively on JD.

Xidesheng opened a flagship store on JD in 2015, and has witnessed strong sales since then. On Nov. 1 this year, sales of Xidesheng increased by 24% compared with the same day last year, putting the brand at the top of the ranking in the bicycle category on JD.

“We will continue working together with the Xidesheng omnichannel cooperation, thus providing a more convenient shopping experience for consumers interested in sports products,” said Xiaowei Che, general manager of JD Sports.

(zhanghui36@jd.com)