JD.com Honored For Commitment to Sustainable Future

Posted on by Rachel Liu

JD.com, China’s leading technology-driven e-commerce and retail infrastructure service provider, announced today it will join the ranks of top global companies in receiving the 2018 SEAL Business Sustainability Award.

The award is a testament to the company’s commitment to environmental causes, extensive contributions to social innovation and the far-reaching impact of its Corporate Responsibility Program.

For the past five years, JD.com’s CSR team has galvanized the company, creating and implementing programs that foster sustainable development.  Through its initiatives, every part of the JD.com footprint, from the creation of a product, to its packaging, sale and delivery, is executed with the expectation that the company’s impact on society and the environment will be positive, long lasting and sustainable.

The SEAL Awards consider sustainability, environmental achievement and leadership in granting its business sustainability award, which recognizes the most sustainable companies globally.  In receiving this award for its global impact, JD.com joins honorees including Apple, Impossible Foods, Nike, Patagonia, Samsung and Seventh Generation.

Libo Ma, JD.com’s head of corporate social responsibility, said, “JD.com is honored to receive the SEAL Award and join leaders in corporate sustainability, a cause we champion for the long term. The recognition is a testament to our multi-faceted sustainable platform and enduring commitment to environmental protection, poverty alleviation and social innovation and education. We believe a company should be measured not only by traditional business metrics, but also by how much it contributes to the people and society.  At JD, our commitment stems from our fundamental belief that we have a responsibility to continuously improve society.”

Matt Harney, Founder of the SEAL Awards, said, “JD.com’s recycling initiative received the highest possible environmental impact score from our judging panel. The program’s impact metrics – covering 47 cities throughout China, with over 1 million articles of clothing and over 400,000 toys recycled – are extraordinary. We applaud the leadership JD.com has shown in leveraging its vast customer base and logistics network to create immediate and meaningful sustainability improvements for our planet.”

As China’s largest retailer, JD.com’s sustainable platforms use the company’s technological advances such as its self-developed logistics and supply chain network that can reach 99% of China’s population. The company has applied innovative technology and expansive infrastructure to making significant contributions to social innovation, environmental protection, education, disaster relief and poverty alleviation, with the total value of contributions exceeding RMB 700 million.

The SEAL Awards is an environmental advocacy organization that honors leaders in business and the media for their work in combatting climate change. SEAL’s organizational pillars are its Business Sustainability Awards, Environmental Journalism Awards, and Environmental Research Grants program.

Offline Mobile Phone Retailer D.Phone Teams Up with E-commerce Giant JD.com

Posted on by Yuchuan Wang

Singles Day, the world’s largest shopping event, is known for online promotions. But one offline player, China’s largest offline cell phone retail chain Beijing Digital Telecom Co., Ltd (D.Phone), tapped into the shopping frenzy with the help of JD.com.

More than 1,000 D.Phone stores were listed during Singles Day in JD’s innovative “JPASS” system, through which offline brands can provide online users with coupons and promotional discounts at their brick-and-mortar locations. Participation in the system helped boost offline visits and sales for hundreds of thousands of store locations for JD’s retail partners.

To use it, JD’s over 300 million customers could visit the “JD Membership Code” section of the JD app or a specially-designed WeChat Mini-Program, to locate a nearby participating D.Phone store. JD Membership Code provides an independent page for each of the offline stores including information about products and promotions and also presented customers with a QR code that could be used to complete purchases. The combination of online and offline provided more convenience for consumers while giving D.Phone the ability to leverage e-commerce marketing.

Meanwhile, JD.com app users could also use an “AR-Scan” feature to scan phones in D.Phone shops during the shopping festival for an augmented reality experience and a chance to win prizes.

Implementing JD’s boundaryless retail solution has accounted for 30% of D.Phone’s sales growth since the partnership began.

“These latest initiatives demonstrate the best of what JD.com can offer, not just to customers but for other retailers,” said Chen Lin, head of Boundary less Retail at JD.com.

“This year’s Singles Day period shows the lines between online and offline retail are blurring, as we enter the era of ‘Boundary less Retail.’ This is our vision of the future of shopping, and we are excited to be able to help offline partners improve their great services to consumers, beyond our own platform.”

The initiatives expand the growing list of benefits offered through JD’s Retail as a Service, or RaaS, strategy, in which it opens its technology and infrastructure to other retailers and industries, leveraging JD’s advantages in smart supply chain and in-store technology. Combining online and offline resources, JD can help traditional stores re-energize their customer traffic levels, which have declined in the age of e-commerce.

Shoppers Snap Up Quality and Imported Products on JD.com for Record-Breaking Singles Day Festival

Posted on by Yuchuan Wang

Transaction volume on JD.com reached a record RMB 159.8 billion (approximately US$23 billion) from November 1-11, during its Singles Day Shopping Festival – the first in which the e-commerce giant worked closely with brick-and-mortar retail partners, helping them join in on the shopping extravaganza.

This year shoppers flocked to JD.com for the broad range of goods available in virtually every category.  For example, during the sales period, global brands such as Apple, Dell, Dyson, L’Oréal, SK-II, Pampers, and many others saw impressive sales performance. Products from the U.S., Japan, Germany, the Netherlands, and South Korea proved especially popular.

“There is a noticeable shift in China toward quality over price, which we see in the growing numbers of consumers who are willing to pay more for branded and imported goods,” said Lei Xu, CMO of JD.com and CEO of JD Mall.

“By establishing trust with consumers and brands, thanks to our zero-tolerance policy toward fakes and our innovations in areas such as blockchain traceability for product safety, JD is in a unique position to meet that demand.”

During the period, JD sold more than 400 million items offered by its Fast Moving Consumer Goods and Foods business group. The amount of imported fresh food sold doubled versus the same period last year, with customers buying more than 29,500 tons of items such as meat, vegetables, fruit, and seafood, including some 12 tons of live Canadian lobsters. Premium smartphones from domestic and international brands were once again popular, with some brands seeing sales double compared with the same period last year. Customers also purchased more than 25 million products from the home and life category, which includes home furnishings, cookware, decorative products and many other related items. Consumer electronics, home appliances, and mobile phones continued to see strong customer demand.

In addition to deals on everything from fresh seafood to the latest streetwear brands on JD.com, JD’s partnerships with other retailers are further examples of the company’s Retail as a Service (RaaS) strategy to open its technology and infrastructure to other retailers and industries. More than 600,000 offline stores are using JD technology and infrastructure to attract customers to their own Singles Day promotions. JD developed an innovative new game, for example, to help brick-and-mortar players attract more traffic to stores via WeChat’s mini-program platform. In the game, users are granted points based on the number of steps they take, and by visiting offline stores they can get additional steps that can be exchanged for products and prizes. More than 200,000 stores and 200 brands took part during the sales period.

JD also opened its largest 7FRESH store to date in Langfang, Hebei Province, on Singles Day. 7FRESH is JD’s offline fresh food supermarket. The new store received more than 10,000 customers within a single hour on November 11. In addition to 7FRESH, JD’s portfolio of offline stores includes unmanned convenience stores and JD Retail Experience Shops among many other store formats.

“After more than a decade of building out technology and infrastructure for our own retail business, we will spend the next decade extending our capabilities to enable and empower both online and offline retail innovators,” said Dr. Jianwen Liao, Chief Strategy Officer, JD.com.

“We see the future of retail as one without boundaries, and we are working to bring consumers true boundaryless retail, where they can buy whatever they want, whenever and wherever they want it.”

For more highlights from JD.com’s Singles Day Shopping Festival this year, see the infographic below:

JD.com’s Singles Day Shopping Festival this year, see the infographic

* Transaction volume is calculated to include total value of all orders for products and services placed in the company’s online platform, regardless of whether the goods are sold or delivered or whether the goods are returned and shipping charges paid by buyers to sellers, and excludes products or services with list prices above RMB100,000 as well as transactions conducted by buyers who make purchases exceeding RMB1,000,000 in the aggregate in a single day (similar to the company’s major industry peer GMV definition)

 

New Study Reveals Chinese Consumers Demand Speed and Authenticity

Posted on by Hui Zhang

Chinese consumers are quickly adapting to buying groceries online for immediate delivery from local offline stores – everything from fresh seafood, to craft beer and fresh cut flowers, according to a new joint study conducted by JD, Walmart, Tencent and JD Daojia.

In China, where over 15% of consumption takes place online, compared to just 9% in the US, consumers have been faster to embrace online grocery shopping. The new study found that over 67% of those interviewed out of a sample of 1,774 Chinese consumers actively use services like JD Daojia, which can deliver goods from local offline shops, including Walmart, to customers in under an hour.

The report shows that an increasing number of online shoppers in China view a guarantee of product authenticity as the most important factor when buying goods, with price often viewed as secondary in importance to considerations like product variety, speed of delivery and after-sales service. Consumers carefully consider purchases that can improve their lifestyle, reflect their individuality and be delivered in a convenient way that fits in with their busy modern lives.

The new research underscores the importance of JD’s Boundaryless Retail vision, to enable consumers to buy whatever they want, whenever and wherever they want it. The report identifies omnichannel integration in the Chinese supermarket industry as a major trend going forward, as online and offline players in the industry are increasingly combining resources to meet the diverse needs of modern-day shoppers: bringing together the convenience and diversity of online shopping with offline retail’s immediacy of service and superior user experience.

“In the minds of many shoppers, there is already little distinction between online and offline retail, and this is why JD’s work with offline partners to make ‘Boundaryless Retail’ a reality is so important,” said Kenny Li, VP of JD.com.

“The increasingly diverse needs of consumers require a correspondingly dynamic approach, and partnerships with leading offline retailers like Walmart, are redefining what shopping can be in the age of e-commerce.”

“China is at the forefront of retail innovation and Walmart is moving ever-faster to innovate and meld the offline and online retail services for our customers,” said Jordan Berke, Vice President of Hypermarket E-commerce, Walmart China.

 “Through our strong partnership with JD, JD Daojia and Tencent, we will continue to provide the leading omnichannel shopping experience to our customers in China.”

JD’s partnership with Walmart began in 2016, and last year blossomed into a wide-ranging strategic cooperation in terms of inventory integration, customer integration and store and platform integration. Currently, around 180 Walmart offline stores in 29 cities have been connected with JD’s inventory management system, meaning that when shopping on JD, consumers will get the products delivered from Walmart’s store rather than JD’s warehouse if consumers are closer to the Walmart offline store.

JD offers its technology and infrastructure to other retailers and industries as well, under its “Retail as a Service” or RaaS, strategy.

JD.com Enters All Cargo Air Freight Market Through Partnership with Tianjin Air Cargo

Posted on by Ling Cao

JD.com, China’s largest retailer, has partnered with Tianjin Air Cargo, a unit of HNA Group, to ship goods on a dedicated all-cargo aircraft as the e-commerce giant ramps up its logistics business.

The new service, which launches today, will fly six round trips a week and use a dedicated freight Boeing 737 aircraft branded with the JD Logistics logo. Transportation and delivery between Tianjin and Guangzhou will be faster than when JD relied on shared aircrafts and ground transportation. With more, dedicated capacity, JD will be able to continue its unparalleled service of delivering orders same- or next-day, nationwide. The aircraft will also be used for JD’s growing logistics business, which includes business-to-business transportation and individual parcel delivery throughout China.

The use of an all-cargo aircraft in air freight is more reliable than the common alternative of bellyhold capacity on civil passenger airlines because flight times can be adjusted according to industry demand, as opposed to having to comply with commercial airline schedules. JD and Tianjin Air Cargo will be looking closely at how to expand the new service, with further routes planned between Northern and Southern China.

“The addition of freight by dedicated cargo aircraft brings the strength of JD’s nationwide logistics network to even greater heights,” said Hui Wang, Head of the Express Business Unit at JD Logistics. “We look forward to expanding our relationship with Tianjin Air Cargo in the coming months and we are sure that the resulting expedited delivery speeds will be welcomed by individual consumers as well as the businesses we work with as part of our Retail as a Service strategy.”

“This new service sets a new industry milestone. The combination of Tianjin Cargo’s breadth of experience in freight and JD’s expertise in supply chain makes this partnership a force to be reckoned with,” said Yi Zhang, Chairman & President of Tianjin Air Cargo. “As China’s largest retailer, online or offline, JD’s resources across the e-commerce and logistics industry will be of great assistance to our company’s development going forward.”

The partnership is the latest move by JD to ramp up its abilities to open its technology and infrastructure to other companies and industries, part of its “Retail as a Service,” or RaaS, strategy. JD’s unrivalled guarantee of same or next day delivery for 90% of orders is a key reason why millions of consumers flock to the platform every day. JD uses a wide variety of delivery methods to get goods to customers at such a high level of convenience, including drones, freight trains, unmanned delivery vehicles and high-speed rail.

JD.com to Buy RMB 100 Billion in Overseas Brands’ Products

Posted on by Yuchuan Wang

JD.com, China’s largest retailer, will purchase nearly RMB 100 billion worth of products from overseas brands. The company announced its plans at the first ever China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai.

As disposable incomes in China rise, consumers increasingly demand high-quality products, especially imported products. JD’s data from more than 300 million customers on its e-commerce platform shows that e-commerce has rapidly emerged as one of China’s most preferred channels for buying overseas brands. Last year, the number of users purchasing products from overseas brands grew by 37.1% compared to 2016. The volume of imported goods in 2018 to date has already skyrocketed 150% as compared with two years ago.

JD is the top gateway for overseas brands into the China market, providing comprehensive support from technology and marketing to logistics. The company’s “Retail as a Service” strategy, in which JD uses its strengths to empower its partners, has proved enormously appealing to household names from all over the world. The growing family of leading international brands partnering with JD to facilitate their e-commerce strategy now includes the likes of Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen, Dell, Nestle, Avène and many more.

As China’s e-commerce transformation continues to unfold, consumers have gravitated especially towards premium, smart, and green products. According to JD’s data, the highest performing categories among its customers this year have been mobile phones, computer and office suppliers, home appliances, maternal and childcare, and digital products. Advanced economies such as the U.S., Japan, South Korea, Germany, and the Netherlands remain the most popular sources of imported goods.

Chinese consumers buying online are mostly younger (26-45 years old), white-collar workers with middle-to-high incomes. China’s most developed regions, particularly the coastal cities, account for the largest uptake of imported goods. The growth rate for purchases of overseas brands, however, is now highest in fourth- and third-tier cities, where these brands are often not available in brick and mortar stores.

“This commitment is an extension of our promise to provide the best customer experience no matter where are consumers shop,” said Ye Lan, Chief Public Affairs Officer at JD.com. “Our consumers are demanding more high-quality products from around the world, and JD’s unmatched capabilities in e-commerce, logistics, and marketing offer a one-stop solution to bring top imported brands to China. We look forward to partnering with more brands in the years ahead.”

JD already has a strong track record of connecting Chinese consumers with international brands. JD Worldwide, the company’s cross-border e-commerce platform, has attracted more than 20,000 brands from over 70 countries. It has also unveiled dozens of dedicated country malls showcasing the very best brands from countries such as Ireland, Thailand, Japan, and South Korea. Furthermore, JD has launched numerous one-day sales events for specific countries, including Canada, France and Britain, offering special promotions and discounts on high-quality imported products from many countries around the world.

JD.com and Kappa Launch Fashion Crossover Collection

Posted on by Rachel Liu

JD.com, China’s largest retailer, is teaming up with renowned Italian sportswear brand Kappa and Chinese art studio MOROCO Design to launch an exclusive limited edition collection.

The limited edition “Player Kappa x JDX Big Adventure” collection, available only on JD.com, will feature a hoodie, a crewneck and a limited number of canvas gift bags in a chic grey color featuring the signature logo of JDX, JD’s collaborative designer project. The designs for the collection are based on pieces from the Player Kappa Big Adventure collection.

The collection is the latest crossover collaboration by JD and a top international fashion brand, and marks the first time Kappa has teamed up with an e-commerce platform and an art studio. Designs in the collection are aimed at attracting fashion-conscious Chinese consumers who value style and exclusivity. Products will officially go on sale November 1, the opening day of JD’s Singles Day sales period.

JDX, JD’s collaborative designer project

“Kappa is known worldwide for its innovative take on contemporary sportswear, so we are excited to bring these unique designs to JD’s fashion-conscious customers,” said Cici Chen, General Manager of JD Fashion Designer Services. “We are thrilled to be able to expand our offerings from such a beloved brand in China.”

“We are thrilled to work with such an innovative company to bring this limited edition collection to Chinese consumers,” said Li Song, General Manager of Kappa E-commerce. “JD is China’s superior destination for authentic fashion, has a deep understanding of Chinese consumers’ preferences, and offers resources from marketing to logistics to ensure this first crossover collaboration will be a success.”

JD’s exclusive crossover collections have been enormously popular with Chinese consumers, who are increasingly looking for streetwear to express their individual identity and fast-paced lifestyle. Earlier this year, the company launched a limited edition line of sustainably produced jeans with popular Dutch brand G-Star RAW and the collection sold out in less than three minutes. Other collaborations have included a women’s apparel collection with Chinese designer Simon Gao, as well as a crossover collection with Mukzin and the movie “Shadow” directed by one of China’s most well-known movie directors, Yimou Zhang.

 

JD.com Partners with FAW Toyota to Expand Auto Services Business

Posted on by Hui Zhang

FAW Toyota, a joint venture between Toyota Motor Company and First Automobile Works, has launched a flagship store on JD.com, China’s largest retailer, allowing customers in China to purchase and schedule maintenance services online and then bring their vehicles to FAW Toyota’s offline service centers at their convenience.

In addition to auto services, customers can easily purchase a variety of automobile parts and related products. After making their online purchases, customers will receive a verification code on their phones, which they can use at FAW Toyota’s offline ‘4S’ stores to redeem their parts, supplies, installation or repair services. Auto parts and supplies can also be delivered directly to customers’ homes.

Apart from the new levels of convenience customers will enjoy, both companies also will benefit from major synergies created by the new partnership. FAW Toyota will receive invaluable insights from JD provided by the e-commerce platform’s big data on auto consumers, such as the age, gender, and purchasing behavior of shoppers among its more than 300 million active customers. For JD, the strategic cooperation strengthens its position as the go-to e-commerce destination for an ever-expanding range of products and services.

“In addition to making it easier for more Toyota owners to find and do business with us, JD offers us unmatched access and insights into the Chinese market,” said Zhenguo Liu, VP of FAW-TOYOTA Motor Sale Co., Ltd.

“We’re excited to work with them to deliver a seamless and convenient experience to FAW Toyota consumers. We look forward to growing our partnership and to bringing more unique services to Chinese car owners in the future.”

As one of the latest applications of its “Boundaryless Retail” strategy, last month JD launched a new offline automotive initiative called JD Auto Service, known in Chinese as Jingdong Jingche Hui. The initiative already includes nearly 200 third-party offline car repair stores. Through JD Auto Service, customers can buy auto parts or maintenance services on JD.com, and then go to a JD Auto Service location for installation. To ensure high-quality service, each of the offline stores is screened to meet JD’s strict standards before joining the network.

“We are delighted to expand the choices for China’s vehicle owners by welcoming FAW Toyota to JD.com,”

“We are delighted to expand the choices for China’s vehicle owners by welcoming FAW Toyota to JD.com,” said Yishen Tang, General Manager of JD’s auto accessories department.

“China’s rapidly growing market for car parts and services offers a logical extension to our ‘Boundaryless Retail’ vision and a great way to provide increased convenience to our auto customers through this partnership.”

JD has been leveraging its advanced e-commerce capabilities and offline resources to expand into China’s booming automotive aftermarket business. The company’s omnichannel model now covers the entire purchasing process for car parts and services. JD currently has partnerships with over 30,000 authorized offline auto stores for complementary service.  Chinese car owners have responded enthusiastically to JD’s omnichannel network, recognizing the convenience and peace of mind that its seamless solutions offer.