This week, Alibaba Group released a report on its online Harvest Festival campaign helping farmers boost sales of agricultural products. In the U.S., the company’s B2B marketplace Alibaba.com partnered with J.P. Morgan’s payments processing provider to improve card payment services for small- and medium-sized businesses in the U.S.. 

We provided a guide for global brands to sell to Chinese millennials and Generation-Z consumers on China’s leading cross-border shopping channel, Tmall Global. 

Alibaba’s travel-services platform, Fliggy, partnered with MSC Cruises, a Geneva-based cruise line owned by the world’s second-biggest container shipping operator, the Mediterranean Shipping Co.. 

Scroll down to learn about Alibaba’s recent partnerships with German personal-care giant Beiersdorf and Spanish leather shoe brand Lottusse.

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China’s Rural Agriculture Sales Take Off with the Help of E-commerce

Alibaba published a report on Thursday about consumption trends that it had spotted during the ongoing annual Harvest Festival campaign. Over the past month, online sales of agricultural products from the country’s western provinces surged in popularity as logistical infrastructure improved in rural areas. Best-selling products in the region include hot-pot broth from Sichuan and Chongqing, Guizhou’s chili products, Shaanxi’s kiwi fruit, beef and lamb from Inner Mongolia, and goji berries from the Ningxia Hui autonomous region. Farmers sold 350,000 kilograms of pomegranates – many of which were produced in western provinces such as Sichuan – on the first day of B2C marketplace Tmall’s voucher giveaway on Sept. 15. Additionally, sales of agricultural drones, sickles, farming scissors, fruit packaging, grain vacuums on Alibaba’s platforms during the campaign grew by more than 50%, 158%, 196%, 500% and 600%, respectively, year over year. Earlier this month, the company committed RMB100 billion (US$15.5 billion) to promote “common prosperity” in China, with support for agricultural industrialization among its key initiatives.

J.P. Morgan Supports Alipay to Provide Card Payment Services for U.S. SMBs on Alibaba.com

B2B marketplace alibaba.com has joined hands with J.P. Morgan on U.S. credit card payments on the platform to power American SMBs, the bank said in a statement last week.  J.P. Morgan Merchant Services will support Ant Group’s digital payment services platform Alipay to provide improved card payment services in the U.S. for Alibaba.com Trade Assurance—the free payment and order protection service for all on-platform transactions. The announcement comes as more and more small and micro businesses are leveraging marketplaces like Alibaba.com to reach more customers globally faster and easier than selling independently.

China’s Cross-border Shopping Boom and Opportunities for Global Brands

As we count down the days until China’s biggest shopping festival, 11.11, we share how Chinese millennials and Gen-Z consumers shop for overseas products on the B2C marketplace and how it’s creating new opportunities for international brands. Click here to read more about this topic and a three-step video guide for brands seeking to seize this opportunity while keeping a lid on costs and minimizing risks.

MSC Cruises Deepens Partnership with Fliggy

On Wednesday, MSC Cruises inked a partnership with Fliggy to accelerate the recovery of cruise tourism. Under the partnership, MSC will digitize its operations in China, from sales and omnichannel marketing to membership services and online-to-offline customer experiences. The news follows MSC Cruises’ release of special cruise vouchers during Alibaba’s 11.11 Global Shopping Festival last year, which helped it set a new sales record and become the top-seller in the cruise category on Fliggy.

Beiersdorf Taps TMIC to Upgrade Product Innovation in China 

Beiersdorf, which owns Nivea and La Prairie, signed a partnership with Alibaba’s Tmall Innovation Center on Thursday to step up product innovation, including exploring ways to revamp its supply chains in China. The company will tap into TMIC’s consumer insights and digital tools to design, manufacture and launch products for Chinese consumers, the company said in a statement. The collaboration began early last year when Nivea worked with TMIC to launch its first eye mask for men, within just nine months of development kicking off. The company sold 15,000 units just three seconds into a livestream hosted by famous Chinese influencer Viya Huang.

Lottusse Opens Flagship Store on Tmall

Lottusse recently launched an online store on Tmall, giving the Spanish brand access to nearly 900 million active consumers on the e-commerce platform. In a statement, Lottusse, famous for its golf and handmade leather shoes, said the partnership would help the brand convey its values of craftsmanship to China’s young, fashion-conscious shoppers. The online store will offer shoes, bags, accessories and leather garments.

“We have long felt deeply bonded to China, and this is somehow a natural move for our brand,” said Lottusse’s general manager Gustavo Picó. “After (operating for) more than 15 years, (opening) 45 stores in the greatest shopping malls, (gaining) tons of learnings and a great team, we felt that it was time to get into the biggest e-commerce community ever.”

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