This week, Alibaba Group’s marketplace Tmall reported an uptick in searches and orders for cycling gear as people across China hit the roads and trails.
In other news, the 2024 Apsara Conference kicked off this week with a major bang.
On the first day of the Hangzhou-based event, Alibaba Cloud unveiled a new large language model, debuted 100 open-source models, and so much more. Dig into our wrap-up of day 1 below.
China’s Cycling-Crazy Shoppers Turn to Tmall for Helmets, Bikes and More
Cycling products have seen an explosion of interest among shoppers on Chinese e-commerce platform Tmall, data released this week shows.
The category’s total gross merchandise value increased by 77.8% year-on-year between January and August 2024, according to platform data.
Bicycles, cycling clothing, shoes, helmets and sunglasses are some of the most popular products being snapped up by consumers.
Biking jerseys, shorts, gloves and other wearable items were hot ticket items during this year’s 6.18 shopping festival, when overall cycling clothing sales jumped 390% year-on-year on Tmall.
Homegrown and international brands alike are reaping the benefits.
American biking companies Specialized and Trek, Shenzhen-based cycling brand Xidesheng and Chinese bike manufacturer Phoenix are among eight brands to achieve RMB100 million ($14.2 million) in sales on Tmall.
The platform has also seen an influx in new brands to the category—the number of cycling brands on Tmall rose 50.4% between August 2023 and August 2024.
Alibaba Cloud Unveils Qwen2.5, Full-Stack AI Infrastructure Enhancements at 2024 Apsara Conference
Alibaba Cloud released its latest large language model Qwen2.5 during the company’s annual flagship event Apsara in Hangzhou on Thursday.
Additionally, Alibaba Cloud is advancing its Tongyi large model family with a new text-to-video model, and an enhanced large vision language model.
AliViews: Eddie Wu Discusses AI, Alibaba Cloud and More at the 2024 Apsara Conference
Eddie Wu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence, delivered a keynote speech sharing the company’s perspectives on AI development.
“The most significant potential of generative AI is not in creating one or two new super apps for mobiles but in taking over the digital world and altering the physical world,” he said.
His full remarks are available here
Taobao Apple Vision Pro Update Lets Consumers Take Xiaomi Car for Virtual Spin
A recent update by Taobao means test drives are just a click away for Chinese consumers, who can now experience driving an electric sedan from their sofas using an Apple Vision Pro headset.
The latest version of the e-commerce marketplace’s app for the headset allows users to virtually sit in the driver’s seat of a Xiaomi SU7 and accelerate to speeds of 140 mph.
Alibaba.com Reports Rising Optimism Among SMEs Worldwide as Orders Jump
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) around the world have an increasingly sunny outlook on their business prospects, a survey commissioned by B2B e-commerce marketplace Alibaba.com shows.
More than two-thirds (69%) of SME decision-makers are more optimistic about growth opportunities than they were six months ago, while 45% of businesses plan to launch one or two new product lines in the next year.
