Jun 24, 2020|
Terry Wang: Achieve Sustainable Development of JD Beauty
by Rachel Liu
The past JD’s 17th June 18 Grand Promotion has seen sales increases across all categories on JD, and beauty products are no exception. Though not daily necessities like rice or cooking oil, beauty products are becoming essential for many customers in their daily lives. On June 1st, sales of beauty products were 2.5 times the same day last year. High-end beauty products performed exceptionally well, with a 5 times y-o-y increase in the first hour of June 1st.. On June 18th, which is the peak day of 618, sales of high-end beauty brands such as SK-II, Lancôme, Elizabeth Arden and whoo increased 2.6 times, 5.8 times, 2.9 times and 2.2 times respectively.
“Many brands used to think offline channels are most important, but now they are attaching more importance to online,” said Terry Wang, general manager of JD Beauty. “They are working closely with JD and have seen great success during this 618.”
Premiumization of beauty products
Like in many other categories, there has been premuimization in the beauty category – customers’ skin care and makeup routines are more complex, and they are using more high-end products. Sales of facial essence and eye cream increased on the first day of June, and so did foundation and perfume.
Male customers also care about their appearance. On June 1st, sales of male facial cleansing products increased 282% y-o-y, and male skincare sets increased 260%.
Professional livestreams to save customers’ time
Livestream has become a phenomenon since the outbreak of COVID-19, and during this 618, JD held over 300,000 livestreams and saw 31 brands achieve sales of over RMB 100 million yuan from their live shows. JD Beauty held 10,662 live shows during this 618, with over 1,200 merchants and brands starting livestreaming. Total livestreaming time exceeded 32,000 hours.
“Our livestreaming has two unique points: one is that we use professionally-generated content (PGC) to help our customers to select most suitable products in the shortest amount of time. Also, we encourage our brand partners and merchants to join livestreaming because it is a good way to get direct contact with customers and improve customer loyalty.” said Terry Wang: “Our livestream goes beyond entertainment. We want customers to save time by watching our livestreams.”
To provide more professional livestream experience for customers, JD Beauty set up its official livestream program to only promote products selected by its beauty purchasers. After being established for one year, the program has become one of the top programs on JD Live. During this 618, JD’s beauty purchasers also started to do livestreams twice a day to recommend the best products to customers based on their professional knowledge. What’s more, during this 618, almost all brands and merchants hosted over three-hour live shows every day, including OLAY which hosted 7-hour show every day and Carslan which hosted a 14-hour show. Many brands saw sales generated from livestreaming exceed 20%.
AR and AI boost customer experience
Recently JD Beauty launched an AI skin evaluation service in JD app – with one simple scan of the skin, customers can see the analysis of their skin condition based on different metrics, such as skin tone, brightness, eye circles, etc. Since the launching, hundreds of thousands of customers have tried AI skin evaluation, and over 50% of customers who try it add products into their shopping carts. JD’s AR makeup testing is also being constantly upgraded, and can now accurately match what a customer might see if they actually tried the makeup on their own faces.
“The ultimate aim of leveraging of AR and AI technology in JD Beauty is also to save customers’ time. With detailed analysis of customers’ skin condition and their shopping preferences, we can recommend suitable products to them, providing the most professional shopping experience.” said Wang: “With big data on customer feedback, we also hope to provide brands more insights on Chinese customers, and help brands develop C2M (Consumer-to-Manufacturer) products. “
For Wang, 618 is just a short-term activity, and what he values most is the sustainable and quality development of JD’s beauty business. It cannot be achieved without deep cooperation with brands, and he thinks JD Beauty is more than a sales channel for brands, it’s also a marketing and data partner for brands to jointly build brand reputation, and a customer management platform to help brands improve customer loyalty and gain deeper insights on Chinese market. He believes that good strategy needs to be practiced continuously, and the sustainable development of JD Beauty will attract more partners and customers.
Apr 29, 2024|
JD.com Teams Up with Brands to Launch “Trade-in Alliance for Household Appliances and Home Goods”
JD.com recently announced the “Trade-in Alliance for Household Appliances and Home Goods” in collaboration with over 100 renowned brands. This initiative, unveiled on April 27, aims to expand and enhance trade-in services across China and has already been successfully implemented in 20 provinces and cities.
The Trade-in Alliance allows consumers to access JD’s trade-in services for an extensive range of products, covering over 200 subcategories including TVs, refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, and more. The initiative caters to a growing demand, with more than 16 million users leveraging JD’s platform since 2023 to exchange their old household items for new ones. This represents a 200 percent increase in first-time users year-on-year.
To further enhance the customer experience, JD.com has introduced the “Three Free & Four Unlimited” trade-in service. This service includes complimentary door-to-door pickup, disassembly, and handling of old goods. Additionally, it places no restrictions on the trade-in items regarding their original purchase channel, brand, age, or condition. With just four simple clicks on the JD app, users can receive generous discounts from their old goods and enjoy the convenience of JD’s one-stop trade-in services.
JD.com also utilizes its logistical strengths to extend these services to even the most remote areas of China. For instance, customers living in Tibet at an elevation of 4,300 meters can now easily access JD’s trade-in options, including doorstep delivery and recycling of old appliances.
The Trade-in Alliance is built on six foundational pillars: service capabilities, brand support, marketing initiatives, industry chain synergies, omni-channel development, and category cooperation. By fostering closer partnerships with leading brands in the household appliance and home goods sectors, JD.com is setting a new standard for hassle-free trade-in services, offering unparalleled convenience and value to consumers nationwide.
Apr 22, 2024|
JD.com Debuts AI Digital Representative of Founder Richard Liu During Livestream, Drawing 20 Million Views in Under One Hour
During a livestream on April 16th, JD.com introduced an AI digital representative of its founder, Richard Liu (Qiangdong Liu), nicknamed “procurement and sales manager Brother Dong (采销东哥).” Liu appeared in both JD Home Appliances and JD Supermarket’s livestreaming rooms, attracting over 20 million views within the first hour and generating RMB 50 million in sales throughout the entire livestream.
The digital representative almost perfectly replicates Liu’s facial expressions, body language, gestures, and voice, capturing even the subtlest movements of his fingers. Behind this technology is JD Cloud’s ChatRhino, an advanced large language model (LLM) that brings the avatar to life.
Behind the Technology
The LLM precisely mirrors Liu’s distinctive expressions and movements, naturally weaving in his occasional finger twiddles while he speaks, accentuating points with hand gestures, and adding nods at just the right moments for emphasis, creating a natural and authentic representation. Perfecting the voice proved to be a greater challenge. Those who have heard Liu speak are well-acquainted with the distinct inflections of his Suqian accent—a characteristic touch from his small-town roots in Jiangsu province. Observers will note the brisk pace of his speech, lighter enunciation, and his tendency to meld words in a seamless flow. His “sh” sounds carry a nasal quality, and he often addresses people as “brothers” to boost morale.
While programming the standard Mandarin dialect is relatively straightforward, teaching the AI to adopt the nuances of the Suqian dialect and Liu’s unique vocal patterns required a precise level of customization from the ChatRhino LLM. For example, the LLM had to provide accurate judgments on when to introduce the nasal tonality or the specific moments to merge words, ensuring the AI’s linguistic output mirrored Liu’s signature speaking style authentically.
Beyond replicating vocal characteristics, the AI’s voice must also be suitable for the casual, dynamic atmosphere of e-commerce livestreaming, such as adopting colloquialisms like “xiong di men” — a phrase comparable to “folks” or “guys” in English — to create a friendly rapport with the audience. JD Cloud’s ChatRhino team fine-tuned the model to focus on sociable nuances. The initial dataset for the LLM consisted predominantly of Liu’s formal speeches—spirited and compelling, yet too ceremonious for the interactive world of livestreaming. To cultivate a more congenial and approachable persona, the team utilized Liu’s recent casual conversations as the primary source material, rich with personal anecdotes and travel tales. This approach shaped the AI’s voice into one that is that is not only natural and approachable but also genuinely engaging for the end user.
As a fully self-developed technology product of JD Cloud, the ChatRhino Digital Representative solution has already served over 4,000 brand merchants, contributing to a 30% increase in order conversion rate during idle hours and helping merchants reduce livestreaming costs, enhance operational efficiency, and optimize user experience. Equipped with 50,000 hours of voice data, this technology enables digital representatives to intelligently adapt to various livestreaming styles dynamically.
The AI is also adept at managing 70% of routine live chat inquiries autonomously without any manual intervention, while also optimizing its responses with a self-improving algorithm. For instance, digital representatives can autonomously fields questions using product details and scripts, and post-livestream, and assimilate new information. Mirroring the acumen of seasoned sales professionals, it boasts a 90% accuracy rate in offering tailored product recommendations when solicited by customers.
The recent introduction of a cutting-edge livestream control console serves as the “brain” for the digital representative solution. It diligently monitors real-time inventory, adjusting the showcased products in the livestream and tailoring the script to ensure relevance—sidestepping items that are out of stock and spotlighting those in high demand. It also gauges and fine-tunes the frequency and style of interactions based on live audience engagement. With this advanced platform, businesses managing multiple livestreams can effortlessly operate thousands of sessions concurrently via cloud services, bypassing the need for intricate local setups. This innovation yields a substantial cost reduction of 30%.
Human-Machine Synergy
The intention behind digital avatars is not to outshine or compete with human talent but to harness the potential of technology to work in concert with livestreamers, maximizing overall growth. Essentially, the digital representative solution serves as a tool for brands and merchants to leverage long-tail traffic once real livestreamers conclude their broadcasts. JD’s analytics indicate this strategy can boost order conversion rates by 30% during off-peak hours, such as late into the night.
Digital representatives also excel in specific product categories that require detailed explanations, such as health products like nursing beds, electric wheelchairs, and oxygen concentrators. The solution can provide constant, round-the-clock guidance, adding substantial value to livestreams when traffic is typically lower.
Last week, JD.com announced an investment of one billion yuan into video content creation. This investment underscores JD’s commitment to leveraging the power of short videos and livestreams to transform the online shopping experience for its users and create new growth avenues for brand merchants.
JD Provides Free Nucleic Acid Testing for its Couriers in Beijing
