The Li River, Xingping, China. Photo credit: Shutterstock
This week, Alibaba Group’s travel-services platform, Fliggy, unveiled its annual travel keywords of 2021, including short trips, e-sports and winter-sports holidays.
In other news, Gucci, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Burberry have partnered with Tmall Luxury Pavilion, Alibaba’s flagship luxury platform, to offer online after-sales services, traditionally available only in physical stores.
Scroll down for a deep dive into how Alibaba’s next-day delivery e-grocer Taocaicai and bargains app Taobao Deals are expanding in China’s lower-tier cities.
Most Searched Travel Keywords of 2021 on Fliggy: Short Trips, E-sports Hotel, and Winter Sports Holidays
Alibaba’s travel-services platform, Fliggy, unveiled its annual travel keywords of 2021, including short trips, e-sports and winter-sports holidays.
Though the coronavirus pandemic has restricted international travel, the Chinese are still on the move. Data from Fliggy shows that bookings for short trips accounted for 60% of all reservations on the platform this year. Tourists prefer to drive to getaways and stay in hotel resorts to chill.
The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics is boosting the popularity of winter sports in China. During this year’s 11.11 shopping festival sales on Fliggy, bookings for winter sports-related products increased 206% year-on-year, especially offerings that combined skiing and hot springs. Bookings for e-sports hotels, where young people can play video games, also reported an increase of 65% year-on-year in 2021.
Northwest China, where the ancient Silk Road started, became the tourist destination of the summer. Young people born after the 1990s accounted for 60% of the travelers to Northwest China, according to data from Fliggy. Desert exploration, astronomy tours and archaeological tours saw bookings more than double.
Luxury Brands Offer After-Sales Services on Tmall Luxury Pavilion
More than ten luxury brands have partnered with Tmall Luxury Pavilion, Alibaba’s flagship luxury platform, to offer online after-sales services that is traditionally available only in physical stores.
Gucci, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Burberry are among the luxury brands offering the services. Shoppers from lower-tier cities where no physical luxury stores are located can book the services online and send their products to the brands for free.
Swiss watchmaker Chopard will offer cleaning and regulate products sold on the platform. Designer shoe brand Rene Caovilla can help consumers reattach rhinestones that have fallen off to their high-heels. Meanwhile, Burberry is offering to clean its signature trench coats.
Tmall Luxury Pavilion, which hosts more than 200 luxury and designer brands, expects enhanced online customer services to boost online sales of luxury products in China.
How Alibaba’s Taobao Deals Is Gaining Popularity Among China’s Army of Bargain Hunters
We traced Taobao Deals‘ boom in popularity to shifting consumer trends in rural areas.
Read more about how manufacturer-to-consumer supply chains are catching on outside China’s biggest cities.
Take a deep dive here into the analysis
Beyond Beijing and Shanghai: How Alibaba is Pivoting to Serve China’s Fast-Growing Lower-Tier Cities
We take you on a tour of China’s burgeoning world of community marketplaces and show how people in villages and townships place orders for groceries and daily necessities on Taocaicai, Alibaba’s e-grocer.
Get the full story here
A Holiday Message from Michael Evans, President of Alibaba Group
Dr. Chen Long Explains Alibaba’s Carbon Reduction Strategy
Read more about Alibaba’s ESG goals here
Alibaba.com Partners With Wallonia Export & Investment Agency to Help Belgian SMEs go Digital
Alibaba.com, Alibaba’s business-to-business online marketplace, has signed an agreement with the Wallonia Export & Investment Agency (AWEX), a Belgian government trade agency, to jointly promote Belgian SMEs’ exports through digitization.
Alibaba.com will provide training and assistance to Belgian sellers on Alibaba.com to help them export their products. The cooperation falls under the Electronic World Trade Platform framework that the Belgium government and Alibaba jointly launched in 2018 to promote trade.
Many Belgian exporters are active on Alibaba.com, from carmakers to agricultural companies. The cooperation between Alibaba.com and AWEX will help Belgian SMEs reach customers worldwide, increase production and diversify income streams, said Andrew Zheng, Deputy General Manager of Alibaba.com.
