A sales associate engages with customer in a private livestreaming session. Photo credit: Alibaba Group

This week, Alibaba Group’s dedicated platform for luxury brands, Tmall Luxury Pavilion, rolled out a one-on-one private livestreaming feature to replicate the exclusive shopping experience in a physical store.

In other news, Cainiao Network, the logistics arm of Alibaba, launched a weekly charter flight between China and Brazil. The flight, a collaboration with Qatar Airway Cargo, meets the growing demand for Chinese products among consumers in Latin America.

In celebration of International Women’s Day, Alizila sat down with fashion designer and businesswoman Diane von Furstenberg to talk about entrepreneurship and livestreaming. We also tapped into data from Alibaba’s ecosystem to examine how the digital economy empowers female entrepreneurs.

Tmall Luxury Pavilion Unveils One-on-One Livestreaming Feature for Luxury Brands

Tmall Luxury Pavilion, Alibaba’s dedicated platform for luxury brands, rolled out a one-on-one livestreaming feature this week that takes customer service to the next level.  

The feature allows sales associates of luxury brands to engage with customers individually in private livestreaming sessions. Customers can try on products virtually.

Cartier and Burberry are among the first luxury brands to use the feature. To book the service, customers can go to the brands’ flagship stores on Tmall Luxury Pavilion. Hundreds of customers tried the service on Tmall when it ran as a pilot project in mid-February.

Luxury brands are extending personalized services online to replicate the exclusive atmosphere that customers find in physical stores.

Consumers can also use augmented reality and virtual reality technologies to try on products and 3D showrooms on the platform to enjoy an immersive luxury shopping experience.

Cainiao Teams Up with Qatar Airways to Launch a Weekly Charter Flight Linking China and Brazil

Alibaba’s logistics arm Cainiao Network launched a charter flight from Hong Kong to São Paulo this week to serve one of the fastest-growing e-commerce destinations in Latin America.

The flight, in partnership with Qatar Airways Cargo, goes once a week and provides 100 tonnes of cargo capacity, according to a release. The first Cainiao chartered Boeing 777 freighter departed Hong Kong on March 5, carrying beauty and fashion goods, jewelry, watches, appliances, toys, and sports equipment.

Cainiao has expanded its network in recent months to ensure a smooth supply chain performance.

“Cainiao’s mission is to deliver globally within 72 hours; a goal that can be achieved with the right logistics partners,” said William Xiong, Cainiao’s Chief Strategist and General Manager for Export Logistics.

Lazada Announces Winners of Awards For Outstanding Women

Alibaba’s flagship e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia, Lazada, announced winners of its second-annual Forward Women Awards, celebrating  International Women’s Day on March 8.

Lazada recognized 18 women from Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and other countries across Southeast Asia for their contributions to digital commerce as well as their positive impact on families, local communities and in their home countries.

The winners stand out because of their entrepreneurship and their support of future female business owners. The winners all built their e-commerce business from scratch while juggling responsibilities to their families.

Click here to read the stories of this year’s winners.

How The Digital Economy Empowers Female Entrepreneurs

The digital economy empowers women economically and can contribute to greater gender equality, according to female entrepreneurs and a new report published for International Women’s Day 2022.  

The platform economy creates flexible employment opportunities for women who also have to raise families. Automation has also lowered entry barriers to careers in what were once physically arduous industries, the report said.

Read more here on our coverage of the report.

Celebrating International Women’s Day with Diane von Furstenberg

Fashion designer and businesswoman Diane von Furstenberg sat down with Alizila’s Julie Huang to talk about entrepreneurship, empowerment and supporting the next generation of female leaders.

Diane von Furstenberg On the Benefits of Livestreaming

Von Furstenberg and her team of designers — including granddaughter Talita von Furstenberg — hosted a livestream to connect with their Chinese customer base and tell the story of DVF.

Move Over Influencers, Brands From DVF to Helena Rubinstein Are Livestreaming For Themselves

Retailers are taking to the airwaves and livestreaming product sales themselves in China, lessening their reliance on a cadre of online influencers of consumer behavior.

DVF, Helena Rubinstein and Swiss watchmaker Vacheron Constantine are among the global brands ramping up their own livestreaming channels to build a following, share niche products and shape consumer opinion.

Get the brands’ take on livestreaming for themselves here

Beam Yourself Around the World With Alibaba’s Cloud Me

Real-time holographic communication is now possible, thanks to a newly launched platform from Alibaba’s cloud computing arm, allowing people to interact remotely via life-sized 3-D holograms.

Alizila spoke to Zhao Yue, ApsaraVideo product solution architect at Alibaba Cloud Intelligence, to understand how cloud technology powers this futurist tool to enable global communications.

How Alibaba’s Cloud Technology is Addressing Broadcasters’ Pain Points at Olympic Games

Watch how Alibaba’s cloud technology is helping rights-holding broadcasters be more efficient in terms of cost and content production at Beijing 2022.