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by Ella Kidron

Consumers are getting a head start in stocking up on all things FMCG this Singles Day period. Data from the kick-off of the pre-sales indicates high demand for various products. For example, the Nestlé Dolce Gusto gift box sold out in 30 minutes, reaching a record high and ranking No. 1 in the “mixed food” category (which typically includes items like instant drinks). Sales of delectable Ferrero Rocher 48-piece packs within the first 20 minutes of the pre-sale exceeded sales of the entire day last year, and sales on the day saw year on year growth rate of over 1000%.

Sales of the Gillette gift box on October 21-22 increased 200% YOY. Dental health category sales increased five times compared with last year. High end imported grain pet food was very popular, among which sales of PetcurenGo within 20 minutes of the pre-sale exceeded the whole day last year, increasing a whopping 3000% on the day. This reflects the fact that consumers are constantly paying more attention to pet health, in addition to their own.

JD Super, JD’s online supermarket which is also China’s largest, has seen strong performance having shown early on this year that it was able to guarantee the livelihoods of consumers across the country in the most pressing period of the COVID-19 outbreak. On JD’s second quarter 2020 earnings call on August 17^th, CFO Sandy Xu explained that the supermarket category, including FMCG and fresh produce, became the single largest product category by revenue in the first half of 2020, surpassing mobile phones, home appliances, and computers – JD’s former “champion categories” (which also performed well).

(ella@jd.com)

by Rachel Liu

JD has been awarded “Leading Company for Auto Supply Chain” and “Outstanding Auto Service Provider” at the third China Auto After-Market Summit, demonstrating JD’s strong competitive advantage in the auto after-market industry.

“JD Auto has been able to leverage its supply chain capability to integrate online and offline business throughout production, distribution, sales and service, to provide comprehensive service for customers,” said Wei Zhang, sales director of B2B business at JD Auto.

In 2B business, JD Auto integrates the whole auto parts supply chain and provides enterprises with customized products. JD is also able to help auto parts companies achieve digital transformation using its technological abilities, and provide products for JD’s offline auto stores. JD’s self-owned auto brand Jingantu (京安途) has developed auto parts products including lubricants, batteries and tires that have been customized using JD’s customers insights.

“We hope to speed up the e-commerce transformation of the auto industry and build our ability to provide high quality service for offline stores though developing our 2B business,” said Zhang.

For 2C business, JD Auto focuses on the building of JD Auto Service, JD’s offline automotive initiative, to reach 80 million car owners. 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. Through JD Auto Service, JD has built a complete ecosystem from selling online products to providing offline services.

“JD’s advantage in products, logistics, supply chain, and our continuous effort in opening up to partners, have attracted many manufacturers and suppliers to work with us,” said Zhang. “Because of that, JD customers are also able to enjoy products and services covering motorcycles, cars and auto parts. We hope to build a more open ecosystem and win together with our partners.”

(liuchang61@jd.com)

by Rachel Liu

JD opened the pre-order of Huawei Mate 40 every day at 10:08am beginning on October 23^rd, and will open official sales on October 30^th. Customers pay RMB 100 yuan as deposit to participate in the pre-order. On the first day of pre-order, products made available for the day were sold out within 28 seconds.

JD’s livestream for the Huawei Mate 40 received over 4.07 million views and 10.13 million likes. Customers who bought Huawei Mate 40 phones during the pre-order period are also eligible for 30-day return and free battery change service for one year.

Chinese baijiu giant Moutai also joined hands with Huawei to provide benefits for JD customers. Customers who participated in the pre-order have the chance to win the right to buy the hot-selling Feitian Moutai which is only available for purchase at certain times.

JD and Huawei are long-time partners. During this year’s 618 Grand Promotion (June 18^th), Gang He, head of Huawei’s mobile phone division joined JD’s livestream to promote Huawei products. On June 18^th, the peak of 618 Grand Promotion, sales of HUAWEI increased over 300% YOY in the first 10 minutes. During the August 18^th (818) JD Mobile Phone Festival, sales of Huawei increased 111% YOY, and followers of Huawei flagship store on JD surpassed 40 million, which is the highest on JD of any single brand.

(liuchang61@jd.com)

by Ella Kidron

The travel momentum that was observed around the National Day holiday (October 1-8^th) has shown no signs of slowing down. Sales of travel products increased 2135% in the first hour on October 22^nd, the Super Category Day for JD Travel, and the kick off of the pre-sales for JD’s 22-day Singles Day (November 11^th) promotion period. Hotel sales on the day also saw a 2176% increase year-on-year.

According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the number of visits to attractions in China during the holiday period reached 637 million, about 81% of the 782 million visits recorded during the holiday in 2019, an impressive bounce back that helped travel companies in their recovery following a lull at the height of the pandemic.

On the Super Category Day 67% of hotel orders were for high-end hotels. The Shanghai Shimao Wonderland Intercontinental, the Sanya Yalong Bay Hilton and the Sofitel Legend Peoples Grand Hotel Xian were among the top hotels booked. Flight tickets increased 175% YOY, among which individual travel orders (meaning not part of tours) increased 137%. China United Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines and Qingdao Airlines are among the airlines providing special flight products for the Super Brand Day. Qingdao Airlines’ couple, three person packages all sold out within 22 minutes of launch, setting a new sales record.

As far as travel destinations are concerned, Sanya, Qingdao, Xiamen and other seaside destinations were in high demand, with orders increasing five times YOY. Sichuan and Yunnan and other spots popular for their cultural experiences saw an eight-time increase.

JD’s good deals on travel during the Singles Day sales period are helping consumers pull the trigger faster. Data shows that 29% of orders were completed within one minute. Additionally 63% of consumers were able to get their hands on various flash sales products.

Super Category Days are one-day shopping events designated to special discounts in a particular category. JD also holds Super Brand Days as well as other “Super” promotions throughout the year. JD Travel has much more in store for Singles Day, with this Super Category Day just being the start of festivities. On October 28^th, Lei Xu, JD Retail CEO and James Jianzhang Liang, co-founder and executive chairman of Trip.com, will jointly host a livestream event.

(ella@jd.com)