by Yuchuan Wang

On June 1^st, JD.com kicked off its June 18^th Grand Promotion (“618”). For the first hour on that day, transaction volume of JD Fresh, JD.com’s fresh food business, increased over 800% YOY, among which transaction volume of chicken and beef increased nearly 34 times and 12 times, respectively.

According to official data, China’s per capita chicken consumption is increasing year by year, and came to 12.01 kg in 2019, an increase of 14% compared with 2018.

On the one hand, affected by the rise in pork prices, there has been an increasing demand for chicken and eggs, which are considered as pork substitutes. On the other hand, increasing consumption of white meat and reducing red meat has become a trend worldwide.

But consumption of chicken per capita in China still lags far behind the US (46 kg), EU (22 kg) and Japan (40 kg). While the expanding market has made China’s broiler industry quite prosperous.

According to JD Fresh’s sales team for chicken meat, chicken wings and chicken breast are consumers’ favorites. Quality chicken breast is not only favored by consumers pursuing a healthy diet, but also by pet owners who will stock up during promotions.

JD consumers have commented on the customer review page for chicken products:

“This chicken breast is healthy and the key is it’s affordable when pork is expensive. Chicken breast is no doubt the best substitute for pork; it is nutritious and healthy and you will not gain weight…”

“I usually cook half for myself and the other half for my cat.”

At the same time, more and more Chinese consumers are choosing beef and mutton as main course staples. According to JD’s data, sales of beef and mutton in 2018 increased over 100% YOY.

As consumers are increasingly focused on product authenticity and safety, imported meat is continuously welcomed on JD. The most popular origins for beef and mutton are Australia, Brazil, New Zealand, Uruguay and Argentina.

As early as in 2018, JD teamed up with InterAgri, a leading exporter of Australian meat products, to bring premium Pure Black Angus Beef products to Chinese consumers for the first time. The two parties also worked on a blockchain trace and track system that will provide consumers with even greater transparency on where their beef comes from and how it has been managed at every step of the production process.

Relying on JD’s ability to source directly from the country of origin, during the 618 promotion this year, JD has prepared 50,000 kilograms of beef sirloin – about 50 truckloads – at very competitive prices.

(yuchuan.wang@jd.com)

by Rachel Liu

From May 20^th-22^nd, JD.com and the China Alcoholic Drinks Association jointly held its second Wine Tasting and Evaluation Conference in Beijing. Experts from the China Alcoholic Drinks Association and Chinese Grape Industry Technology System tasted and graded about 200 brands of wine that are selling on JD. Twenty wine won gold medals, 30 won silver and 32 bronze. The results of the evaluation will be shown on JD’s product page to help customers choose wine more conveniently. Cynthia Yang, JD’s professional wine purchaser/sommerlier and WEST Diploma candidate also joined the evaluation.

In 2019, JD and the China Alcoholic Drinks Association held the first Wine Tasting and Evaluation Conference, and jointly released the China Wine Region Standards. The wine market in China is riddled with complexity and customers often want to have more guidance on wine selection. The China Wine Region Standards and its associated evaluation system can provide professional recommendations to Chinese consumers, helping them pick out high quality wine, and promoting the healthy development of the wine industry.

JD’s participation in the release of the China Wine Region Standards also targets to promote the development of China’s wine industry, as it sets a standard upon which to evaluate each wine based on appearance, fragrance, taste and overall quality. It can also strengthen the concept of wine regions and increase the popularity of the wine regions among customers, building a healthy environment for the development of Chinese wine industry.

(liuchang61@jd.com)

by Vivian Yang

The minions are taking over JD Super on International Children’s Day! JD Super, JD’s online supermarket, has partnered with a number of toys and musical instrument brands join the lovely yellow creatures for a “Minions BANANA Festival” during JD’s annual mid-year grand promotion.

Authentic co-branded toys and their new editions have quickly sold out on JD Super as Minions fans are taking advantage of JD’s “buy RMB 199, take RMB 100 off” coupon to indulge their Minion mania.

Lego’s Minions set stood out as its “Minionized” bricks allow users to construct various Minions stories with freedom and creativity.

The Minions are easily adaptable to different products because of its “banana language” termed “Minionese” and expressive behaviors that don’t need any translation, making it easy to reach people of all ages and cultures.

In China, the majority of Minions fans, in fact, are adults in their 20s, known as the post-90 and post-95 generations. Minions answer to their tastes which are increasingly diversified, individualized and sometimes atypical. JD Super wishes to bring the joy of BANANA to more Minions lovers this summer.

(vivian.yang@jd.com)

by Ella Kidron, Ling Cao and Yuchuan Wang

On June 1^st, JD.com kicked off its June 18^th Grand Promotion (“618”), which also marks the 17^th anniversary of the company’s founding. As the first large nationwide shopping festival post-epidemic, this year’s 618 is the sales promotion with the largest amount of discounts, the best shopping experience, the strongest brand growth opportunity, and the most new product launches ever. An estimated 200 million new products will go on sale during the event. Below is an infographic with sales highlights, followed by a more detailed explanation.

This is the 17^th 618 for JD to join hands with Apple. Transaction volume of all Apple products within the first hour on June 1 increased three times as compared with the same period last year. In the first 5 minutes, transaction volume of OLED TVs with a price tag of over RMB 10,000 yuan each increased over 6 times YOY. Of the TVs bought in the first over, over 70% of them were over 55-inch large screen TVs. In the first five minutes, transaction volume of highly popular Dyson vacuums increased over 6 times YOY. Transaction volume of Nintendo Switch products was 20 times that of the May average.

In the first 10 minutes, transaction volume of JD Pharmacy increased 10 times, vaccination appointments increased 19 times, and dentistry services increased 9 times. In the first half an hour, orders for JD Health’s online medical consultation services increased 6 times as compared with last year.

Beauty brands also performed well. In the first 10 minutes, transaction volume of SK-II, Lancôme, and Elizabeth Arden exceeded that of the whole of June 1^st last year. Luxury products realized a 400% increase in the first hour, achieving higher sales than the whole of the first day last year. Transaction volume of apparel within the first hour increased 500% YOY, while shoes and boots increased 422% YOY. Cross-border product sales increased by more than 500% YOY.

Within the first 10 minutes, transaction volume of true wireless earbuds increased 10 times YOY, while transaction volume of light and thin laptops in the first 30 minutes increased 188% YOY, among which JD C2M (Consumer-to-Manufacturer) project, HP Zhan 66, increased 21 times compared with the previous period.

Sales of services are also a highlight of the first hour on June 1^st. Of the 1000 homes available through JD’s “First-Party”-level real estate initiative, 221 homes had already been reserved after the first hour. Online real estate consulting volume increased two times month over month, while online browsing increased four times.

In the first 10 minutes, JD Super, JD’s online supermarket, saw transaction volume exceed 300%. One thousand tons of cooking oil were sold, while sales volume of the rice, flour and oil category was 20 times that of the same period last year. In the first minute, transaction volume of alcohol increased 400% YOY. In the first five minutes, sales volume of the beer category was 10 times that of last year, and in the first 10 minutes, sales volume of the craft beer category was 10 times that of last year.

For the first hour on June 1^st, transaction volume of JD Fresh increased over 800% YOY, among which transaction volume of chicken and beef increased nearly 34 times and 12 times, respectively.

Transaction volume of the Home and Life category increased 150% y-o-y for the first hour. Smart door locks increased over 500% YOY for the first 30 minutes.

June 1^st is also Children’s Day. Transaction volume of baby and maternal products increased 200% YOY for the first 20 minutes. Sales of toys and musical instruments in the first five minutes were 800% of sales during the same period last year. Sales of “Blindboxes” (where customers don’t know what the product is when they buy it) were 27 times that of the same period last year.

The first order was delivered in just 9 minutes after Ms. Du, a customer based in the lower-tier city of Handan, Hebei province, placed it at midnight on June 1^st. Ms. Du ordered a selfie stick. This rapid delivery is made possible because JD leveraged big data to put popular products in JD’s forward warehouses in advance. Twenty more core cities will have this service. During 618, JD has already prior put over 1 billion products in 730 warehouses closest to customers, helping ensure that they receive them on time.

This year JD is providing RMB 10 billion yuan in subsidies, hundreds of billions of discounts and 10 billion consumption coupons during the 618 event. The company is leveraging technology, integrated resources and infrastructure to lead new consumption trends and boost overall post-COVID consumption in China.

(ella@jd.com; ling.cao@jd.com; yuchuan.wang@jd.com)

by Tracy Yang

Every year, JD Books will launch a promotion event ahead of JD’s June 18 Anniversary Grand Promotion as a warm-up，and this year was no exception. This year, JD released its another C2M project in the books category, three “Super Box” giftsets designed by JD.com, meant to help effectively reach target consumers and achieve emotional resonance with readers.

Using JD’s strong consumer insights and advantages as a cross-category platform, JD underwent a comprehensive analysis of shopping habits of the target consumer group, and worked with well-known media platforms Ximalaya FM, Fandeng Read, and What is Worth Buying, to choose a variety of products, books, accessories and classes to be boxed together. The sets are tailored for different needs are divided into childhood, growth and life categories.

Take the Childhood Super Box as an example. It includes a 20-book set of picture books selected by Suzuki Picture Books, satisfying children’s rich imaginations; a Xiaoya Nano smart speaker, which is the only AI speaker product in the industry that focuses on voice-on-demand content development, and integrates Ximalaya’s rich audio resources, including more than 18,000 children’s stories, more than 50,000 nursery rhymes, and more than 5000 children’s albums; and a pencil case and VIPKID stationery gift box.

On May 27^th, sales of books grew 168% year on year, among which 4.9 times as many children’s books were sold as compared with last year.

(tracy.yang@jd.com)