JD.com and Everledger have successfully implemented an inter-chain collaboration that combined with GIA’s long established diamond grading expertise will empower the ecommerce platform to increase trust and transparency and enhance the digital ecommerce experience for consumers.

Carlsbad (California), Beijing, London, 25 August 2020

Everledger has partnered with JD.com, China’s largest online and offline retailer, with more than 417 million active users, and the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), the world’s foremost authority on certification of diamonds, to help increase trust and transparency in diamond provenance and further confidence in online diamond purchases.

Through blockchain interoperability technology, the Everledger platform syncs GIA diamond grading information to the JD Blockchain Anti-counterfeiting and Tracing Platform, and provides customers with independently verified diamond certificates and origin information through the JD.com app, as well as on JD.com’s mobile and desktop websites.

GIA is the world leader for determining the quality of diamonds based on its universally recognised 4Cs diamond grading methodology. Through this collaboration, JD.com’s customers will be able to check the validity of a GIA diamond grading report and will have online access to valuable insights into the characteristics of their diamond before the diamond and its GIA report even arrives at their doorstep.

The application of blockchain technology in e-commerce to store verifiable grading report information on the blockchain for consumers to interact with will provide unprecedented levels of transparency into the quality and authenticity of the diamonds consumers purchase online, thereby enhancing the digital e-commerce experience and building more trust in China’s online jewellery market.

The platform will also be used to prevent grading report fraud. Algorithms will help JD.com to identify and reduce the fraudulent use of GIA reports, such as by checking that multiple diamonds aren’t being sold with the same report. This will be supplemented by livestreams and customer education initiatives to help customers learn how to avoid fraudulent activity when purchasing diamonds, all of which will provide a superior digital user experience. These improvements are of key importance in the Chinese market, where digitally-savvy millennials account for 68% of diamond sales compared to only 45% worldwide.

Junshu Fu, head of Jewelry and Accessories, JD Fashion and Lifestyle , said: “This cooperation has multiple meanings. On the one hand, JingZhi Alliance, the jewelry quality assurance program, has now added another important component – GIA, the world’s largest diamond certification organization, with its professional verification services. On the other hand, blockchain technology provides a more credible and assured online diamond purchase experience for consumers.”

Xinlei Zhai, head of blockchain at JD Digits, said, “The successful cross-chain collaboration is realized by the JD Blockchain Anti-counterfeiting and Tracing Platform and international blockchain supply chain company Everledger, in order to achieve a strong technical support for diamond traceability services, which is not only a benchmark for the future cross-chain or multi-chain collaborative scenarios, but also an important step in the international cooperation of JD blockchain.”

Chris Taylor, Everledger’s Chief Operating Officer, added, “Given the growth in e-commerce, fraud is a very real risk in the diamond market, which is why it’s so important that consumers have access to secure and trustworthy information. By bringing cutting edge blockchain technology, online luxury shopping, and GIA’s gold standard grading expertise together on JD.com, we’re empowering consumers to purchase luxury items with increased confidence.”

“Everything GIA does – our research, education and of course grading millions of diamonds each year in our laboratories around the world – has the singular mission of protecting consumers,” said Pritesh Patel, GIA’s Chief Operating Officer. “The innovative and transformational integration of Everledger’s blockchain expertise and JD.com’s impressive reach and consumer relationships with GIA’s industry-leading diamond expertise and universally-accepted grading reports is a major step forward for consumer confidence.”

This collaboration marks the next step in Everledger’s expansion in China, which started in  2018 when it collaborated with GIA and leading jewellery brand Chow Tai Fook to use blockchain technology to deliver secure, digital diamond grading reports to consumers for the first time. Everledger also introduced a WeChat Mini Program e-commerce solution in partnership with ALROSA (the global leader in diamond mining). Furthermore, Tencent, one of the world’s most important internet companies, led Everledger’s Series A round of investments last year.

Leanne Kemp, founder and CEO of Everledger, said: “Bringing this level of transparency into the Chinese jewellery industry marks another exciting and important milestone on our journey towards providing clarity for the supply chains that need it most. Consumers in China can now purchase diamonds safe in the knowledge that they have access to the most accurate and authentic grading information at the click of a button.”

By Vivian Yang

 

The bathroom is poised to become smarter thanks to a raft of high-tech fixtures. With the integration of an intelligent speaker, are you ready to talk to your toilet?

On August 15^th, Jomoo, a famous bathroom brand in China, unveiled a new intelligent toilet. The ZS510T is a Consumer-to-Manufacturer (C2M) product designed with JD’s product research team and tailored to JD customers’ needs.

Remote control stood out as a key function from customers’ feedback. So, this time Jomoo integrated JD’s IoT home system “JD Whale” into its fully-automated toilet product. Through JD Whale’s AI speaker or its app control, users can complete a hands-free bathroom experience by giving directives such as controlling the toilet cover, flushing with varying degrees of water pressure, initiating personalized cleansing and drying modes, and adjusting water and seat temperatures.

Sales of the JD Whale-embedded new intelligent toilet exceeded RMB 1 million yuan on launch day, ranking at the top of the list of most popular bathroom items on JD. Near 700,000 people watched the livestream session on the day, with over 400,000 interactions.  On August 15^th, Jomoo’s overall transaction volume increased by 500% year-on-year, with its brand and store both becoming the No.1 in JD’s bathroom and kitchen category.

In addition to these core functions, the AI-powered toilet can get even more meticulous: like automated lower-flow flush for men’s use that can save water and save them from having to bend down to flush. A special intensive washing function is built in for people with constipation. The toilet will also sense when someone is coming and automatically moisten the bowl so it is easy to flush away all the dirt after use.

“I’ve never imagined to feel so happy after using the intelligent toilet,” a Gen-Z user described with full excitement after using the intelligent toilet for the first time. “Look at these automated cover-flipping, flushing, cleansing and drying functions. It makes every trip to the toilet feel like a trip to the spa. No more cold toilet seat in the winter, no more germ-ridden seat. I feel my whole body is liberated. I’m on top of the world!”

Jomoo’s Intelligent toilet and JD Whale smart speaker

A spokesperson from Jomoo said that data shows that most of the customers of intelligent toilets are under the age of 35. They fancy high-tech and futuristic products in their homes and hope to live higher quality lives. “Through this kind of C2M project with JD, we have explored a more effective and precise approach to better serve these customers.”

 

(vivian.yang@jd.com)

by Ling Cao

JD teamed up with top pet brands during Pets Fair Asia 2020 held last week in Shanghai, covering Mars Petcare, Royal Canin, China Pet Food, Myfoodie, Navarch, Nature Bridge, Frontline and Pure & Natural. JD aims to help 100 pet brands each realize over RMB 100 million yuan in sales.

China’s pet industry has grown rapidly in recent years. According to industry data, the growth rate will remain 20%, with a total market value of RMB 472.3 billion yuan by 2023. In the first half of 2020, JD’s pet business grew twice as fast as the industry, and was a key contributor to the post-pandemic recovery of the pet industry.

C2M is a trend that is growing in popularity in the pet industry. Overall, JD has helped over 20 brands to develop nearly 300 C2M products. During the 618 Grand Promotion, sales of 20 C2M products each surpassed RMB 1 million yuan. One recent example is the cooperation with Mars. By leveraging JD’s rich experience in C2M projects, and Mars’ insight into the pet industry and product research, both parties have launched a high-end C2M cat food product which fits cats’ eating habits and ensures no burden on their digestive systems.

JD Super has already become the top platform for pet brands selling products in China. JD’s continued partnerships with leading brands enable the company to provide high quality products to customers.

 

(ling.cao@jd.com)

by Yuchuan Wang

On August 24^th, French fashion house Balmain opened a first-party store on JD.com, China’s largest retailer, bringing its runway and F/W 2020 new collections to the e-commerce platform. This is the first time for Balmain to launch a store on a full-category e-commerce platform.

Founded in 1945 by Pierre Balmain, Balmain is one of the most influential fashion brands in the world. The brand has won the love of trendsetters for its mix of modern, rock and street style.

The store will provide selected items specifically chosen by JD’s fashion buyers based on Chinese consumers’ tastes and preferences.

In addition, to celebrate the grand opening, Balmain has partnered with JD IOU, a credit toll for consumers, to provide consumers with six-month interest-free loans.

Balmain’s products will be delivered by JD Luxury Express service in which couriers dressed in suit and white gloves will deliver to customers in electric cars, providing a premium shopping experience commensurate to what they might otherwise receive in offline luxury stores.

 

(yuchuan.wang@jd.com)

by Rachel Liu

JD has upgraded Yihaodian (literally means No.1 Store) to Yihaodian Membership Store, the first online membership-only retail platform in China.

Customers can buy an Yihaodian membership for RMB 198 yuan/year. Existing Yihaodian members or JD PLUS members can enjoy a discounted rate of RMB 148 yuan/year. With the membership, customers can enjoy selected, premium products at highly competitive prices, from groceries to fresh food, digital products, lifestyle products and more. JD Logistics will provide same-or-next day delivery service to Yihaodian customers. Yihaodian’s service currently covers four tier-1 cities, namely Shanghai, Shenzhen, Beijing, Guangzhou, and Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. It will be open in more cities in the future.

The new Yihaodian model is targeted at middle-class family customers who demand high quality products with competitive prices. Yihaodian also has a team of professional buyers, most of whom have over five years of experience in their own product categories, to personally select products for customers from JD’s supply chain or the customized products. Selected based on big data, the products are usually with positive reviews and high repurchase rates, such as premium steak, seasonal fruits, environmental friendly cleaning products, novel small home appliances and more. The first-party model can also give customers peace of mind when shopping on Yihaodian.

To save customers’ from comparing prices on different platforms, Yihaodian has a price comparison system to monitor prices on different ecommerce channels 24/7. If the price of a product on other platforms is found to be lower than on Yihaodian, it will either lower the price or remove the product. JD also ensures that all prices for products on Yihaodian are lower than the same product on JD.

Yihaodian provides its members with industry-leading customer service. The platform offers “membership fee insurance”, which means if customers make 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 membership fee. Other premium services include a 24/7 customer service line, refund of orders with broken packages and for products nearing their expiration date. The services can provide customers with an easy, convenient and economical experience.

Yihaodian was founded in 2008 as a B2C ecommerce platform that mainly sell groceries. Walmart first invested in Yihaodian in 2011. In 2016, JD acquired Yihaodian as part of its deepened partnership with Walmart.

 

(liuchang61@jd.com)