Traditional brick-and-mortar bookstores around the world are facing challenges of declining traffic and sales amid fierce competition. Now, in China, traditional bookstores are experiencing a revival thanks to e-commerce giant JD.com.

JD.com, China’s largest retailer, has its own significant online book business. But the company is also providing solutions for book procurement, logistics and technology to 49 offline book stores, including Yitiao and AIO SPACE , part of JD’s “Retail as a Service,” or RaaS, strategy. Under the strategy, the company has provided a wide array of technology and services to companies ranging from consumer goods manufacturers to restaurants and other retailers.

Using technology developed for JD’s own e-commerce business, the company is helping to modernize supply chains and increase sales for the offline stores. Tangning Books, a bookstore in Guangzhou with two locations, for example, managed a dizzying array of more than 60 book suppliers before partnering with JD on May 15, 2017. The companies worked together to source all the books from JD.com’s inventory, with replenishment services from JD’s nationwide, in-house logistics network every week, significantly saving on labor costs and delivery delays. Sales grew 30% from May to the end of December in 2017, and profits grew 17% over the same period.

Since the partnership began, Tangning Books has reduced turnover to 220 days from over one year. Using JD’s big data analysis capabilities, the store now also has insight about customer buying behaviors, and chooses book assortments tailored to its customer base, leading to more sales.

“Without the help of JD’s technology and supply chain expertise, our business would have no competitive advantage in the traditional mode,” said Ningxin Lu, Founder of Tangning Bookstore.

“Now with the backing of e-commerce technology, we see a bright future for the offline book business.”

Another pain point for offline book stores is that they can’t stock every book customers may ask for in their limited space. Tangning Books lets customers scan QR codes for books they can’t find in store to have the books delivered within 24 hours from JD.com’s deeper inventory instead. In this way, the companies work together to create an “endless aisle” of choices for customers while JD shares profits from the sales with Tangning.

“Offline bookstores are just one example of the many industries where JD’s expertise in supply chain and inventory management, big data and technology can benefit other companies and industries, beyond JD’s own platform,” said Haifeng Yang, general manager of the Value Supply Chain Department at JD Logistics.

JD’s RaaS solutions have helped a number of companies, even beyond retail. Wang Shun Ge, a famous restaurant chain in China, has cut delivery costs to its restaurants by 50%, while getting faster shipments, since beginning to using JD for digital procurement of kitchen ingredients and logistics in 2017.

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, 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.