Photo credit: Alibaba Group
This week, over 1 million merchants on Alibaba Group’s digital marketplaces Tmall and Taobao started preparing for next month’s 6.18 Mid-year Shopping Festival, where customers will browse tens of millions of products.
In other news, logistics network Cainiao is teaming up with AliExpress, an international business-to-consumer platform, to launch five fulfillment centers ahead of 6.18.
Over 1 Mln Taobao and Tmall Merchants to Participate in 6.18 This Year
About 1.45 million merchants will put 60 million products on sale during Alibaba’s annual 6.18 Mid-year Shopping Festival next month, Taobao Tmall Commerce Group said this week.
The news came as Taobao Tmall Commerce Group — which combines online shopping platforms Taobao and Tmall — celebrated the 20th anniversary of Taobao’s creation.
Consumers can look forward to shopping coupons, such as a RMB50 ($7.20) discount for purchases over RMB300, and a discount event featuring products up to 80% off.
Taobao Tmall Commerce Group will offer subsidies to merchants who lay on home delivery. Merchants participating in 6.18 for the first time will have their warehouse rent fee waived for three months.
Cainiao, AliExpress Super Charge Cross-border Logistics For 6.18
AliExpress and Cainiao announced on Tuesday that they would join hands to open five new cross-border warehouses in China within one month to get ahead of preparations for the shopping festival.
Merchants who sell on the platform or consign to it will be able to choose from 13 warehouses across manufacturing hubs in eastern China.
The additional storage facilities will give merchants more allocation flexibility, helping to resolve multi-warehouse stocking issues and cutting storage costs.
AliExpress will expand its domestic and international warehouse capacity by more than one million square meters this year. The platform also plans to build additional distribution centers to cover some 200 locations around China.
Why Chinese Tourists Are Staying Close To Home, For Now: Fliggy Executive
China’s once intrepid travelers are cautious about booking holidays to far-flung destinations as the world’s second-largest economy recovers from the pandemic.
Logistics hurdles and red tape are also deterring many from booking long-haul flights, according to Ada Xu, Regional Director for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa at Fliggy.
It will also take time to restore planes on runways, she shared in a filmed interview with Alizila.
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Faction Skis Goes All-in on China Amid Winter Sports Boom as Novice Skiers Buy Premium Gear
Ski brand Faction Skis is carving out a niche among a burgeoning cohort of novice winter sports lovers in China who want to own upmarket gear.
The Swiss company has built a team in China, leveraged digital tools on Alibaba Group’s online marketplace Tmall and built communities among novice skiers with celebrity ambassadors, including Olympic gold medalist Eileen Gu.
“We decided we either had to go full-time into China and commit, or not bother,” said Alex Hoye, CEO and Co-Founder of Faction Skis, during an interview with Alizila.
The company is enjoying a strong tailwind created by China’s ski boom, with over 13 million people hitting China’s slopes every year, according to the 2022 International Report on Snow & Mountain Tourism by Geneva-based ski business expert Laurent Vanat.
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Taobao Tmall Commerce Set to Invest in Winning Users
Taobao Tmall Commerce Group is set to make a significant investment into enhancing overall user experience and attracting customers for merchants on its digital marketplaces, said the group’s chief executive Trudy Dai this week.
“Taobao has always been technology-driven,” said Dai. “The next step for Taobao is to make AI-powered tools for merchants popular and inclusive,” she added.
Alibaba said in March it would restructure into six companies and other investments, a move designed to unlock shareholder value and foster market competitiveness.
This is the first time that Dai has spoken publicly after the reorganization was unveiled.
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