by Rachel Liu and Kelly Dawson

In the first 10 minutes of November 1st, sales on JD Super, JD’s online supermarket, increased 700% YOY. In the first minute, sales of packaged foods, maternal & baby products and liquors surpassed RMB 100 million yuan. Sales of personal care and cleansing products increased 10 times YOY in the first five minutes; and sales of pet products increased over 15 times YOY in the same period.

Healthy Food

As health consciousness rises in China, sales of healthy products have also increased. For example, in the first 10 minutes of November 1st, sales of protein bars increased 15 times YOY; and sales of meal replacement milkshakesincreased 20 times YOY.

High-end Maternal and Baby Products

Parents have also become more health-conscious when it comes to their children, spending more on higher quality products. In the first 10 minutes of November 1st, sales of ultra-high-end infant milk powder increased five times YOY; sales of organic milk powder increased seven times YOY; sales of organic supplement food increased 10 times YOY; and sales of organic food for infants and children increased seven times YOY.

Sales of Imported Wine

Sales of premium alcohols also saw a rise. In the first 10 minutes of November 1st, sales of wine increased by two times YOY; sales of sake increased by five times YOY; sales of craft beer increased by seven times YOY; and sales of fruit beer increased by 4.5 times YOY.

High-end and Niche Personal Care Products

Consumers are also spending more on self-care products. For example, in the first 10 minutes of November 1st, sales of high-end shower gel increased by 10 times YOY; sales of imported shampoo increased by 10 times YOY; sales of hair essential oil increased by over five times YOY. Sales of high-end oral care brand Marvis increased by three times YOY in the first hour.

Washing Liquid and Disinfectant Products

Additionally, sales of cleansing products increased by 10 times in the first five minutes.Sales of disinfectants increased by 18 times YOY; sales of disinfection wipes increased by 20 times YOY; sales of disposable cleansing products increased by 20 times YOY; sales of imported cleansing products increased by 10 times YOY.

Only the Best Products for Pets

Also reflected in first day sales were the rising population of pet owners in China—and a desire to treat their loyal companions well. In the first 10 minutes of November 1st, sales of imported pet food increased by 22 times YOY; sales of smart pet products increased by 31 times YOY; sales of smart cat litter from MEET increased by 37 times YOY; sales of high-end imported brand Petcurean Go! increased by 25 times and Orijen increased by 24 times YOY.

 

(liuchang61@jd.com; kellydawson@jd.com)

by Rachel Liu

JD Fresh announced that it will create 10 catering brands with sales over RMB 100 million yuan on JD, and help the industry to create an over RMB 50 billion yuan catering retail market.

The announcement was made during the first Catering Retail Alliance Conference at JD’s  Beijing headquarters on November 4^th, an event that focused on the future of the retail industry and was attended by 150 leading Chinese catering brands including Meizhou Dongpo (眉州东坡), Donglaishun (东来顺), Guangzhou Restaurant and more.

JD formed the Catering Retail Alliance this February to open its ability in omnichannel, cold-chain logistics, finance and technology to help catering enterprises offer ready-to-cook or instant dishes on JD, as many catering enterprises were suffering from the closing of offline stores during COVID-19. The alliance also aims to help catering enterprises achieve transformation and reach out to customers through both online and offline channels. Traditionally, these catering enterprises mainly focused on offline and had to deal with high cost of rents and labor. Since 2018, JD has been helping brands move their businesses online, which enables the brands to reach cities where they don’t have offline stores.

Take Meizhou Dongpo for example: Since COVID-19, its ecommerce business has increased 3500% YOY, and JD accounts for the largest percentage among online platforms. Sales of instant meat products increased 700% YOY and instant dishes 900%. “You can only have a limited number of restaurants,” said Gang Wang, CEO of Meizhou Dongpo on the conference. “I think omnichannel is a trend for the future of the catering industry.”

JD can also leverage its big data to provide suggestions for brands on new product development and customer management. Zhiqiang Wang, head of Business Purchase at JD Fresh at said, “We are able to help brands develop customized products more effectively through C2M. For example, we started to investigate the instant dishes market since 2017 and found it has great potential. We immediately started to build a team to develop the products with brands and saw a rapid increase since the beginning of this year.”

Lao Chenghuangmiao (老城隍庙) is a brand that has successfully developed online products with the help of JD. As the brand lacked experience and knowledge about developing online products, JD suggested that it could develop instant food that is suitable for small families or for one person, as the customers of JD Fresh are mostly family customers or white-collar workers. Leveraging the help of JD’s Catering Retail Alliance, the brand only took 10 days to finish the launching of new instant food products. Now it has developed over 10 types of instant food products that are wildly popular among customers.

 

(liuchang61@jd.com)

by Ling Cao

JD PLUS, JD’s paid premium membership program, has deepened cooperation with six leading companies, including Hainan Airlines, Didi Chuxing, Costa Coffee, Burger King, Huazhu hotels and Xue’ersi Online School. The cooperation was announced during a press conference on November 3^rd at JD headquarters in Beijing.

Based on the cooperation, JD PLUS will form a lifestyle alliance, providing omnichannel privileges for over 20 million JD PLUS members. The privileges will be available starting next year. JD PLUS has already partnered with over 600 brands to provide more than one thousand privileges in sectors covering movie tickets, travel, hotel bookings, fitness, entertainment and more.

Simon Han, vice president of JD.com said, “By cooperating with these industry-leading brands, JD PLUS members will enjoy exclusive privileges from them. Additionally, by integrating resources and optimizing cooperation with brands, we aim to create an industry benchmark in the paid membership field, and achieve joint success.”

From left to right are: Qingning Xia, senior vice president of Huazhu hotels, Chunhui Meng, general manager of JD PLUS, Shan Nan, deputy GM of Xue’ersi Online School, Simon Han, vice president of JD.com, Yun Ye, vice president of Lilicheng Media from Didi Chuxing, Ying Xu, head of the northern region of China for COAST COFFEE, Nick Deng, CMO of Burger King China, Jichun Liu, vice president of Hainan Airlines.

During the conference, several partners said the cooperation has been fruitful. Nick Deng, CMO of Burger King China, said, “We have been cooperating with JD PLUS for half a year, and it’s effective. JD PLUS members are more active and have higher average basket price compared with other channels. In the future, we would like to deepen our cooperation to more scenarios such as instant delivery, providing better privileges to both customers.”

Ying Xu, head of the northern region of China for COAST COFFEE said, “The cooperation can help us attract more new customers, and I hope we will continue to provide better benefits for our customers going forward.”

JD PLUS will also provide massive subsidies for its members during this Singles Day Grand Promotion. On November 1^st, JD PLUS new members increased 113% YoY, and lifestyle privileges redeemed by members increased 150% compared with the daily average.

Jichun Liu, vice president of Hainan Airlines said, “I hope JD and Hainan Airlines can integrate resources for the brand concept and benefits, and jointly participate in the development of Hainan Free Trade Port to promote the domestic and international ‘double circulation’ strategy. I also hope that we can deepen cooperation to achieve synergy between the airlines and internet, leading product marketing efforts and upgrading the airline industry.”

Yun Ye, vice president of Lilicheng Media from Didi Chuxing said, “JD and Didi share a similar member pool, and in the future, we would like to provide more value to customers in traveling and consumption.”

Qingning Xia, senior vice president of Huazhu hotels said, “Going forward, I hope we can combine Huazhu’s offline resources with JD’s online resources, creating omnichannel membership services and setting an example for the industry.”

The epidemic has made online education popular. Shan Nan, deputy GM of Xue’ersi Online School said, “I hope the partnership with JD will not only promote the membership development, but also deepen cooperation in categories like online courses, providing more valuable privileges to customers.”

Chunhui Meng, general manager of JD PLUS said, “More and more programs are going to be available, which help connect brands and members together. In the future, we will open up to a more flexible cooperation model, such as special privileges for tailored members, making our access and understanding of members more accurate. We ultimately want to build an ecosystem with our partners, and provide more value to our partners and members.”

 

(ling.cao@jd.com)

by Martin Li

Sales of JD’s customer-to-manufacturer (C2M) products grew almost three times compared with the same period of last year in the first two days of the Singles Day Grand Promotion, which started on November 1^st.

JD’s C2M initiative leverages the company’s big data insights to jointly develop tailored products with brand partners based on exactly what customers want, as revealed through their shopping behaviors and preferences.

Well-known home appliance brands have opened more than 350 production lines to provide 80,000 exclusive products to JD during the promotion, more than half of which are C2M home appliances.

The sales of C2M home appliances increased over five times during the first 30 minutes of the promotion.

Among the home appliance brands are Siemens, LG, Casarte and Haier.

Besides home appliances, more than 70% of game consoles sold during the first two days were C2M products. Sales of C2M game phones jumped over 200% in the first 10 minutes, compared with the same period of last year.

In August, JD Super, JD’s online supermarket, signed strategic cooperation with pet food producer and retailer Mars Petcare to develop C2M products. Mars opened a special production line for the project.

“It’s an important effort by Mars to respond to new consumption trends. With the help of JD Super’s big data and consumer insights, Mars can provide products to better meet demands of pet owners, as well as raise our brand’s core influence,” said Yinghua Niu, president for Mars Pets Nutrition China.

More than 50 C2M products have achieved sales of over RMB 100 million yuan each on JD this year.

 

(bjlihao3@jd.com)

 

Day 1 Singles Day Sales See 90% YOY Growth

by Ella Kidron

JD officially kicked off its Singles Day Grand Promotion on November 1^st. For the whole day, sales increased 90% year-on-year. Where consumption during 618 signified entry into the “new normal”, Singles Day so far indicates the further normalization of epidemic prevention measures as well as the medium and long-term upward growth trend of the Chinese consumption market.

Consumers rushed to buy big brands, both international and domestic, including Mengniu, Apple and Huawei. In fact, JD’s big data team noticed a spike in direct searches for brand names such as Huawei, Apple and Xiaomi.

JD PLUS, which recently reached 20 million members, saw a lot of activity on Nov 1^st. The number of new users on Nov. 1^st increased 113% YOY.

The most frenzy came from second and third tier cities among which Liaoning province, Chongqing city and Jiangxi province were the fastest growing provinces and cities.

Customized products, which have been a consistent focus for JD this year, remained highly popular. During Nov. 1-2^nd the number of C2M products sold on JD increased nearly three times year on year. An Intel light laptop with a new generation CPU saw 70% growth, while C2M products made up 60% of desktop sales. JD’s C2M home appliances, which have quickly become popular for their high cost-to-performance ratio also performed well. Twenty products from this line selected as priority quickly exceeded sales of RMB 200 million yuan on the first day.

Consumers have a new found appreciation for the home, in part due to spending extended time at home this year. As such, home related purchases, large and small, were a highlight on Nov. 1^st. JD sold 200,000 bathroom decoration packages while sales of kitchen decoration packages increased 300%.

Personal care home appliances grew 180% on the first day of sales, among which makers of hair dryers, electric razors and more such as Dyson, Philips, Flyco, Panasonic, Braun and Oral B were highest ranked in terms of sales.

Mobile phone sales in half an hour saw 314% growth. JD’s special mobile phone for the elderly saw eight times growth in the first 15 minutes, while users who participated in JD’s trade in program in the first 30 minutes increased 465%.

JD Luxury saw whole day sales on Nov. 1 up 138% YOY. In the first 30 minutes, 127 brands including Ferragamo, Ralph Lauren and Tod’s saw sales up 10 times YOY. International jewelry brands were up six times. With the weather in several parts of China becoming colder, down quilts sales grew 4.9 times. The amount of thermal underwear increased 480% YOY.

Online education has been a constant this year. In the first hour on Nov. 1, student laptop sales increased 16 times. Dictionary pens increased 19 times. Meanwhile, the stability of the epidemic, people are more willing to get out of their home to exercise. On the first day of the promotion, badminton classes increased 50% while classes at popular boutique gym Space Cycle increased 100%, both YOY.

JD Health also had a strong showing. Medical equipment sales increased doubled while nourishing products increased over 200%. Bird’s nest, and cordyceps, a fungus commonly used in Chinese medicine increased three times. Health products such as vitamins increased over 200% YOY. JD received over 210,000 online medical consultations on Nov 1^st, among which consultations of Chinese medicine increased 11 times. Vaccines, beauty clinic services (i.e. plastic surgery), checkups and other services increased eight times.

 

 

(ella@jd.com)

 

by Vivian Yang

Services consumption on JD.com saw explosive growth on November 1^st, the first day of the Singles Day Grand Promotion（November 1^st  to 11^th ）. Sales highlights include:

Car Maintenance

Following massive travel and road trip activities during China’s Golden Week holiday (Oct.1^st  to 8^th ), the demand for car maintenance has piled up. Sales of car-related products and services soared in categories including car covers, charging equipment, automotive electrical appliances, batteries, spark plugs and more. The top three sales brands on JD during the day were Mobil, Michelin, and Castrol.

On November 1^st, sales of cars on JD.com increased four times, and sales of motorcycles increased eight times year on year. Orders of car maintenance packages offered by JD Auto Services, JD’s offline car services centers, grew 273 times compared with the same period last year.

 

Online House Buying

During this year’s Singles Day Grand Promotion, JD joined hands with several top-tier Chinese real estate developers such as Vanke, Future Land Development Holdings, and China Railway Construction to offer exclusive discounts.

In the first 30 minutes on November 1^st, purchases of new houses on JD increased 70% compared with the same period last year. People from South China are the most active in purchasing homes and booking house visiting tours on JD. Customers from Beijing, Chengdu and Foshan topped the most active buyers list.

 

Fresh Flowers

Safeguarded by JD’s one-stop supply chain solution, JD Flowers saw sales grow five times on November 1^st. In the first 20 minutes on the day, first-party sales of fresh flowers and green plants had surpassed that of the whole day sales in 2019. Sales of gardening tools also increased 90% year on year.

Meanwhile, making flower buying omnichannel on the supply chain side, JD launched a flower trading mini APP from which merchants can book fresh flowers directly from the areas they are produced and receive them in one or two days.

 

Travel Booking

Hotel bookings via JD Travel were four times more than the same day last month, in which orders of high-end hotels increased three times on a month-on-month basis.

Family trips are the most popular choices, with Fantawild Adventure Park, Haichang Ocean Park, Disneyland, Hengdian World Studios and Chimelong Ocean Kingdom being the Top 5 destinations.

 

Local Life Services

Whole day orders of local services increased more than four times as compared with the same period last year. In less than 30 minutes, door-to-door laundry services increased 80% year on year.

For the whole day on November 1^st, home services purchased on JD.com increased 250%, and payment for gas cards increased seven times on a year-on-year basis.

 

Online Auctions

From Oct. 21^st to 31^st, during the Singles Day pre-sale period, the number of auction items on JD Auction increased 97% year on year. Deals of houses related to legal cases increased 50% on a month-on-month basis. Transaction volumes of asset auctions increased 11 times compared with the same period last year.

The Top 3 most popular items on JD Auction are watches, bead bracelets and Khotan jade. The premium of Jade raw materials auctioned by customs reached over 56 times.

JD Life and Services aims to provide diversified services offerings in multiple shopping scenarios to its customers and ensures the overall service fulfillment process is efficient and convenient.  More local life-focused services will be promoted on JD.com during this year’s Singles Day promotion further enriching JD’s support of neighborhood services in China.

 

(vivian.yang@jd.com)