by Martin Li

JD’s e-commerce platform witnessed 211% growth in sales of baking utensils from February to May, compared with the same period last year, according to JD statistics. The robust growth in sales of baking utensils, to some degree, reflects economic recovery from the COVID-19 outbreak. The online sales volume grew by 7.3 percent in the first half of this year, according to national statistics.

More than 70% of the buyers were women, growing seven percentage points compared with the same period last year. Women of between 36 and 45 were the fastest-growing group.

The two best-selling items were baking tissues and bakery modules, with the sales of baking tissues up 628% from February to May, compared with the same period last year. Bakery modules for pastries and meat saw a 449% growth in sales.

The frequency of online shopping increased as more consumers sought quality products online, according to a recent survey by iResearch Consulting Group.

(bjlihao3@jd.com)

by Yuchuan Wang

On July 15th, Chinese rockstar Wang Feng did his debut livestream on JD. The 4-hour livestream attracted over 9.15 million views and resulted in over RMB 200 million yuan (US$ 28.6 million) in sales.

Wang’s livestream serves as an ideal model of e-commerce livestreaming. He introduced over 30 quality products from a variety of categories, including Huawei, Philips, Lenovo, and many more. In addition, he was well-prepared for the broadcast because he participated in the product selection and related marketing. He also had strong knowledge of the products he sold; their functions, specifications, and brand histories.

“E-commerce livestreaming should not be just a sales channel, but a brand marketing opportunity,” said Guowei Zhang, head of JD Live at JD.com. “Merchants should care more about their customers than about pure sales data, and make sales a natural result of brand marketing.”

In the midst of COVID-19’s impacts on businesses in 2020, e-commerce livestreaming has been brought into the spotlight with e-commerce and video platforms, celebrities, and brands rushing into the arena. As of March 2020, the number of China’s mobile users watching pan-entertainment livestreams exceeded 150 million, accounting for nearly twenty percent of the internet population.

Livestreaming brings unique value to both consumers and e-commerce platforms. People save time when comparing products across platforms as livestreaming provides a low threshold and an entertaining shopping experience. Additionally, the interactive approach drives consumers to place orders.

That being said, the industry is witnessing an increasing number of celebrities who fail to generate good sales despite having a large amount of traffic. In a recent livestream held by gagman Xiao Shenyang, only 20 orders of Chinese liquor were sold, and 16 of them were returned.

Such unexpected failures serve to highlight some challenges. A confusing product selection, unprofessional livestreamers not familiar with the model or the products, or too much focus on gimmicks rather than the products can be detrimental to success.

JD’s chosen livestreaming process is different from most others in the industry. Other brands and platforms entice high traffic by offering low-priced products to the possible detriment of their perceived brand value. By contrast, JD Live seeks to find a sustainable model that provides the best products to consumers and creates an entertaining shopping experience, while satisfying the needs of partner brands and livestreamers.

(yuchuan.wang@jd.com)

by Vivian Yang

Southern China is entering peak flood season from mid-July to mid-August. This creates problems for drivers in waterlogged areas. To ensure safety and convenience for car owners during this period, JD Auto Services, the chain of professional car maintenance and service stores under JD Auto, introduced 24 free car testing services in over 1,000 offline stores. They cover three stages: pre-accident high-risk parts examination, vehicle rescue, and post-accident maintenance and repairs.

In the prevention stage, JD Auto Services’ free services include inspections of steering, brakes, lighting, horns, wipers, tires, and other parts affected by flooding. Such inspections serve to minimize the risk when driving during flood season.

Accident rescue involves a timely rescue service to move soaked vehicles away from deep water and to a safe place. This reduces water damage to vehicles.

In the post-accident maintenance and repair stage, a number of frequent pain points are given extra care to ensure the vehicle’s functionality and safety. These include battery testing, chassis cleaning, and removal of stagnant water.

As an online to offline (O2O) integration service for car owners, all the services on JD Auto Services can be booked online via JD.com, and then fulfilled through the designated offline car service stores, creating a full-process and one-stop experience for the customers.

Transparent and fast service is the core value behind JD Auto Services, according to a spokesperson from the business unit. In the future, JD Auto Services will continue to develop its advantages based on JD’s big data, technologies, and platform and resource integration. Improvements to its O2O car maintenance services will bring convenience and a better life to hundreds of millions of consumers.

(vivian.yang@jd.com)