Category: Alibaba

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How to develop your business thanks to Chinese tourists in 2023?

Chinese tourist come back in France in 2022

We are expecting 33 million Chinese tourists in 2022 (Le Monde). Finally, they will come back with an aspiration of freedom and most certainly an intention to spend. If you are looking for a solution to develop your business and diversify, you have to think seriously about it. In 2014, 2,2 million Chinese spent around 3,5 Billion USD in France. An interesting fact is, they aren’t only traveling in Paris and Île-de-France. They came in Normandy, French Riviera, in Pays de la Loire (daxueconseil). Throughout this article, you will see some tools like WeChat Pay and AliPay to help them have a great trip. Yet, the main idea you have to retain is empathy. What would you do in their shoes?

Last tip before you go, we advise you to get to know the most powerful Chinese recommendation tool: Dianping. Thanks for reading, I hope this infographic will help you to start 2023 with the right experience at the right time. If you are a retailer, I also friendly recommend you this article about the social commerce, a practice already well established in China.

Thanks to Xavier Brochart, if you want to explore this subject deeper, please contact me on Twitter @ALafeil or in LinkedIn. 

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Alibaba Business China Digital Business Events Marketing

Single’s Day: le Black Friday made in China

Photo provenant du dossier de presse d'Alibabagroup illustrant le lancement du Single's Day 2020 de Tmall.

Le Single’s Day, c’est quoi ?

En France, tout le monde connaît le Black Friday, mais avez-vous déjà entendu parler du Single’s Day ? Peu répandu chez nous, c’est pourtant bien lui le plus grand événement de vente en ligne au monde, loin devant la concurrence.

À la base “fête des célibataires”, le 11 novembre est aujourd’hui un événement commercial à échelle unique, et une occasion pour les plus grandes plateformes d’e-commerce de Chine telles que Tmall (Alibaba) ou Jd.com d’afficher des prix défiant toute concurrence. Depuis sa popularisation en 2009 par Alibaba, le Single’s Day explose les records année après année, avec près de 134 milliards d’euros de produits vendus en 2021 grâce la participation de plus de 800 000 000 de Chinois.

L’infographie suivante présente les chiffres XXL d’une opération commerciale à échelle unique, qui pourrait très vite trouver sa place chez nous.

Pour ceux souhaitant en savoir plus sur le Single’s Day du géant de l’e-commerce chinois Alibaba et sa stratégie de développement international, voici un article qui vous permettra d’approfondir le sujet.

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Alibaba Business Chinese E-Commerce Plateforms Events Marketing

Alibaba et sa stratégie d’implantation en France : retour sur l’évènement La Nuit Aliexpress

Alibaba et sa stratégie d’implantation en France : retour sur le festival La Nuit Aliexpresshttps://dmb-shanghai.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/elena-de-soto-w423NnHFjFg-unsplash-1-300×300.jpgLe site chinois de vente en ligne a encore frappé en organisant ce 11.11, journée des célibataires en Chine, son plus gros évènement en France : La Nuit Aliexpress au parc des expositions de la Porte de Versailles à Paris. En tête d’affiche de ce festival, il était possible de retrouver de nombreux artistes français tels que Bob Sinclar, Offenbach, Vladimir Cauchemar, Soso Maness, etc. Pour les accueillir ainsi que le public, la jeunesse parisienne privée de fêtes ces deux dernières années à cause de l’épidémie mondiale.11.11 ou Single Day, un jour pour fêter les âmes seules

Qu’est-ce que le Single Day ? Littéralement traduit comme le “jour des célibataires“, il est célébré annuellement le 11 novembre en Chine. Cette date a été choisie en 1993 par des étudiants de l’université de Nankin pour organiser des festvités pour les célibataires. Le 11 novembre ou 11.11, quoi de mieux pour stigmatiser le chiffre – 1 – l’individualité par excellence.

En 2009, l’entreprise Aliexpress décide de s’emparer de cette à des fins commerciales pour organiser des promotions spéciales pendant 24 heures.

Aujourd’hui le Single Day est le jour où le groupe Alibaba réalise ses plus grosses ventes de l’année. En 2020, le géant bat son propre record et communique un chiffre d’affaires de 74,1 milliards de dollars en 24h, soit une progression de 92% par rapport à l’année précédente.

Cette journée de supers promotions s’apparente au Black Friday en occident. Le principe est le même : 24 heures de réductions défiantes toutes concurrences.

Aliexpress et sa stratégie d’implantation en France

Bien que le site Aliexpress soit piloté depuis son siège à Hangzhou, l’entreprise cherche à s’implanter en France depuis 2018. L’objectif pour le groupe chinois est d’être “un acteur local sur l’e-commerce français“, selon William Wang, general manager d’Aliexpress France, Italie et Espagne. Ainsi, la plateforme compte aujourd’hui environ 1000 marchands français. Dans un futur proche, le but serait d’exploser ce nombre et installer un “écosystème de marketplace performant au marché français“.

Cette stratégie d’implantation en France passe par l’exploitation des canaux digitaux servant une communication sur les réseaux sociaux mais surfe aussi sur la tendance actuelle du live shopping. Défini par Robin Coulet comme “une technique de vente online. Celle-ci permet aux utilisateurs des réseaux sociaux et des plateformes d’acheter en direct des produits présentés par un influenceur ou par un vendeur dans une vidéo diffusée en streaming.” Ce moyen d’achat populaire en Chine se révèle également pertinent auprès des consommateurs français.

À long terme, le but est d’ancrer la tradition chinoise du 11 novembre promotionnel dans la culture française.

https://dmb-shanghai.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/cardmapr-SGj4fw55Y7w-unsplash-1-300×300.jpgLa Nuit Aliexpress, un coup de communication pour conquérir la jeunesse française

L’objectif marketing caché derrière l’organisation de cet évènement s’inscrit dans la stratégie globale de New Retail du groupe Alibaba et plus précisément de créer un lien entre le physique et le digital. Nous pourrons donc parler ici d’un évènement phygital, c’est-à-dire “un point de vente physique qui intègre les données et méthodes du monde digital.”

Durant l’évènement, des influenceurs ont réalisé des live streaming sur Instagram pour présenter les produits disponibles sur la plateforme Aliexpress et ainsi alimenter le canal digital.

Sébastien Badault, directeur d’Alibaba France précise dans une interview avec le média Républik Retail, “si on constate que la soirée du 11.11 est un vrai succès au niveau de l’événement physique en tant que tel et de la répercussion sur les ventes, peut-être que nous organiserons une autre soirée pour Noël. Nous y réfléchissons car nous estimons que c’est une bonne manière de faire le lien entre les clients, les partenaires et la technologie.”

Une question persiste cependant, cet évènement et ceux à venir seront-ils capables de convertir cette jeune cible française à acheter chez le géant chinois Aliexpress ? Contre son très sérieux concurrent Amazon (près d’un français sur trois consomme sur Amazon) ou marketplace et d’autres encore… Rendez-vous au prochain 11.11 pour le constater.

Références

Chenevoy C. (2021). Alibaba : « Avec la Nuit AliExpress, nous voulons créer du lien entre le physique et le digital ». Républik Retail.

(2020). Singles’ Day : Alibaba explose son record de vente avec 62 milliards d’euros !. Génération Nouvelles Technologies.

N’tsia S. (2021). “La France est le marché européen qui a connu la plus forte croissance chez Aliexpress en 2020”. Journal Du Net.

Coulet R. (2020). Live shopping : la prochaine révolution retail. Journal Du Net.

Qu’est ce que le phygital ?. Retail VR.

Aliexpress, site officiel France.

(2020). Quel est le poids d’Amazon en France ?. Capital.

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Alibaba China Chinese E-Commerce Plateforms COVID-19 Digital Business eCommerce

Little report of the “618” in China 2021

On June 18, is celebrated the anniversary of the online famous shopping platform JD.com. Through the years, this date became more and more popular, being the second biggest festival after the 11.11. Many platforms such as Alibaba or Pingduoduo have followed the move by giving out coupons and doing heavy marketing.

Among the Chinese consumers, it’s an opportunity for them to have a great deal in the middle of a year.

➡️ JD.com registered over RMB 343.8 billion yuan of transaction volume.
➡️ Omnichannel is key
➡️ International but also locals brands under the spot

If you’re more curious, you can read the full article here !

Manon Anger

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A.I Alibaba Augmented Reality BAT Digital Business eCommerce entertainment GAFABAT Jack Ma Marketing New Retail Retail Strategy

New retail: the phygital revolution in China

New retail in China

New Retail : A phygital revolution

Economic development and a rising middle class consumer have made emerging markets an enticing location for many change-makers. Therefore, replacing the patterns of consumption in these regions has prompted retailers and shoppers alike to change their buying habits.

Already the world’s largest e-commerce market, China’s e-commerce will reach $1.1tn at the end of 2021. However, there is still plenty of room for growth with just 38% of China’s total population shopping online. Indeed, China’s online retail sales are expected to increase steadily at an 8.5% compound annual growth rate through to 2022.

Taking these factors into account, Alibaba’s founder (Jack Ma) has embarked on a “phygital revolution” dubbed “New Retail” recognizing that the future of the retail scene was not a matter of platform, but of experience.

 

New Retail disruption

Chinese expect to have a unique experience across all the brand’s interconnected platforms with a multiplication of online and offline touchpoints. Thereupon, it was in response to this growing demand that the phygital ecosystem is born, with New Retail as its first concept.

This disruptive-looking term actually hides a very important social factor, which relates to the way people have consumed and experienced a growth boom, particularly for the past 20 years. Chinese have gone through a brutal transition. Indeed, it brought the smartphone and the IOT to the center of their concerns.

As a result, companies have adopted the same pattern allowing unprecedented agility in developing their sales methods. New Retail is an integral part of these new practices. Theyare not really democratized in Europe, but they have become the new standard in recent years in China.

If you would like to know more about “New Retail”, I invite you to read my LinkedIn article.

 

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A.I Alibaba alipay Apps China WeChat

“Smile to pay” – Facial recognition payment in China

Facial recognition payment in China
Affaires vecteur créé par gstudioimagen - fr.freepik.com

Imagine going to the supermarket with no cash, no card, no wallet, no phone and still being able to pay. How ? By paying with your face. Fascinating or a little bit frightening, Facial recognition payment looks like something coming right from the future. Yet, it is already available in China.

 

Facial recognition payment – What is it ?

In China payment methods technologies are more advanced than in any other parts of the world. Indeed, while in Europe or in America payment by phone is still seen as a quite new technology, in China it is used since a long time. Almost everybody, including young people as well as older people, make their purchases with their smartphones. In some places cash is not even accepted anymore.

With this new technology, China could make even QR codes seems old-fashioned!

“Smile to Pay” launched by Alipay and “Frog Pay” launched by WeChat pay allow customers to pay with their face. How does it work ? A device and a small camera are intalled at the checkout of the supermarket and scan the face of the customer.

 

To know more about facial recognition payment in China, check the full article on LinkedIn !

 

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Alibaba Chinese E-Commerce Plateforms COVID-19 eCommerce Marketing Mobile Outils 2.0

The revolution of e-commerce livestreaming in China in 2020.

Austin Li doing a livestreaming

Livestreaming is getting more and more popular recently. Creators and brands search for new ways to communicate with their community.

In China, e-commerce livestreaming increased its popularity over the last years. The pandemic situation implemented a new change in our lives and our use of social media. While it was easy for brands or creators of content to meetup in real life with their audience, the pandemic put a barrier between them.

One of the most famous platforms in China is Taobao live. The platform allows from small to large, offline to online business to livestream and easily showcase their products or services.

If you want to read more about it, check my article here !

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Alibaba China Chinese E-Commerce Plateforms Fashion Luxury Marketing

Luxury e-commerce platforms in China, a new booming digital strategy

Tmall Luxury Pavilion

Despite their reluctance for e-commerce a few years ago, luxury brands had to adapt to rapid digitalization. Their online presence has increased. Almost all brands have their e-commerce website. They are also present on various luxury fashion retail platforms such as Farfetch, SSENSE, Luisaviaroma.

In China, this online presence is essential to maintain a close relationship with consumers, especially millennials.

The largest luxury e-commerce platform, Alibaba’s Tmall Luxury Pavilion has many innovative aspects. It uses new technologies such as interactive games, livestreams and augmented reality. All this aims to engage consumers and participate in the success of the platform. The website includes more than 200 luxury brands (including Dior, Bvlgari, and recently Gucci) and continues to grow.

I invite you to discover more in my LinkedIn article.

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Alibaba alipay Business China Chinese E-Commerce Plateforms eCommerce Events TaoBao

Single day : what is this important festival in China?

Alibaba made more than 74,1 billion dollars during the Single day.
©CLOSE_SHOOT

Alibaba made more than 74,1 billion dollars during the Single day.
©CLOSE_SHOOT

If you are interested in China or even digital and business, you may have heard of the most popular and important online shopping festival in the whole country. Here is what made the success of these 2 dates which can be compared to the Black Friday.

 

Single day: 11.11

First, it is important to understand what this day represents.

This date originates from an university tradition in Nanjing during the 90’s. At that time, this day was reserved for newly graduated male students to celebrate their success and their freedom with friends. It reached not long after popularity amount female graduates. This date of November 11 was not chosen randomly but because of the four “1” that compose it: it is a synonym of individuality.

Over time, 11.11 has become the single day and then the day to celebrate single life throughout China.

In 2009, giant Alibaba seized this date to make it an annual festival for singles with lots of deals, mostly on Tmall. Very quickly, this event conquered the Chinese population and Alibaba took the opportunity to extend its influence on the market by selling, on this occasion, a large quantity of products at attractive prices. Today, with the help of the internet, this festival has crossed borders and many brands have started to promote it abroad.

In 2019, the Chinese e-commerce giant achieved 34.7 billion euros in sales, a new record. Due to the high demand, this year’s festival took place not only on November 11, the official date, but also from November 1 to 3. While we could expect a new record this year, no one would have imagined that Alibaba would beat its own record by doubling its sales: 62 billion euros.

Obviously, this can be explained, in this very special year, by the COVID 19 epidemic which has led the population to buy online more than usual, but also by the number of foreign brands which have developed their participation and Alibaba’s communication marketing. As numbers, this represents more than 250,000 brands including 475 with a turnover over 13 million euros at the end.

The e-commerce giant can also be proud of its cloud infrastructure which made it possible to process 583,000 orders per second.

Cosmetics were one of the best-selling product categories on the platform. The biggest brands were Chinese and Korean, but right behind were international brands which very quickly understood that it was in their interest to take part due to the power  this event can offer. Additionally, Alibaba recently reiterated that collaborations with KOL and KOC are as important as doing livestreamings, super popular at the moment.

 

Double 12

12.12 was initially aimed to popularize Alipay and offer the possibility for offline stores to participate in the event. Nowadays, December 12th is considered as a sequel to 11.11 to sell extra stock leftovers and to help small offline business through its Taobao platform. Small and medium business can offer deals. Everything is digitized with easy transactions through Alipay, livestreamings, and online advertising campaigns.

This year, JD.com became the first Chinese’s online platform to allow consumers to pay with digital yuan. Even if a lot of online shopping sites don’t publish their sales, this one announced on their Wechat account almost 20 000 orders were made with this digital currency. The test was made in collaboration with the Suzhou municipality which gave away 20 million yuan through red packets.

Even if numbers were lower than the previous online shopping event in November, brands made great profit out of it. For example, consumers bought coupons for 9,000 cups of milk tea within 30 minutes and 24,000 movie tickets within an hour, according to Global Times.

 

You can read more on possible digital Yuan here.

 

Sources :

Singles’ Day : histoire d’un phénomène Made In China by Perrine

Single Day 2020 : Alibaba et JD.com explosent leur record avec 62,58 milliards d’euros de ventes by Valentin Cimino

Singles’ Day : Alibaba explose son record de vente avec 62 milliards d’euros ! by Bruno C.

Eclipsed by Its Predecessor, Double 12’s Statistics Revealed by Yue Sun

Double 12 online shopping festival comes and goes without the hype of Double 11 By Zhang Hongpei

Why businesses need to take note of 12/12 in China (the market’s most important promotion you’ve never heard of) and what brands can do to prepare by Eddie Tabakman

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Alibaba alipay Apps China eCommerce Marketing New Retail

New Retail: convenience over data privacy?

Retail is evolving to adapt to consumers’ expectations, and that often means bringing digital elements into their stores. Digitizing the customer experience indeed seems to be the key to offer the “three C’s” to consumers: customer centricity, convenience, and customization. 

In China, New Retail has proven that modern technologies and data can enable merchants to be cost-effective and profitable and allow customers to benefit from a convenient experience. If you are not familiar with what New Retail is yet, have a peek at my article What is New Retail and why is it thriving in China?

New Retail is not proper to China, however, the Chinese environment is prone to its evolution and adoption. 

Why? One of the reasons is that Chinese retailers have access to a large pool of data about their customers. The Chinese consumer journey is data-driven, which allows retailers to adapt their strategy to their customers and innovate.

However, this model cannot exactly be copied -yet- in Western countries, for several reasons. 

The first one is the different regulations: in Europe for instance, the GDPR rules users’ privacy quite strictly. However, in China, even though some laws have recently emerged, the legal environment seems to be more vague and permissive.

Then, these regulations have impacted the Western retail landscape. If super apps exist in China, it would be virtually impossible to build an equivalent in the West. Even though some companies have enlarged their scope of services like Google or Amazon, they can still not compare to the Chinese super apps that offer everything – literally everything – in a unique app.

Then, consumers’ mentalities are quite different too. While data privacy seems to be an alien concept for Chinese, their Western counterparts are becoming increasingly concerned about it.

Data privacy: China vs West

In the context of my work on New Retail, I conducted interviews among French consumers. On that occasion, I have been able to collect their insights and opinions about data privacy with retailers. I wanted to see if their opinion would be similar to the one found in the study of PwC (2018).

Many of the respondents said that they did not want to give information that was “too personal” to retailers, such as a picture of themselves or a phone number. However, some of them still affirmed that if it was necessary to provide this type of information to get the desired product, they would do it, because they are ready to trade data privacy against some products or services.

On the contrary, to my surprise, numerous interviewees did not seem scared or unwilling to share personal information with retailers. Almost half of the respondents asserted that they would have no problems with using technologies such as facial recognition. They would be ready to use these technologies if it could make their journey faster and smoother. They would trade their data for convenience: the value of a journey no longer only lies in the products, but in the way a retailer shapes the in-store experience.

The results of these interviews lead me to believe that if Western retailers want to invite consumers to give more of their personal data, they should do two things:

Reassure consumers on the way their data will be handled

Many interviewees expressed their concerns about the misuse of their data. They do not want to be spammed or hacked and expect retailers to take great care of their private information. Some of the respondents claimed that if they were told their data would be protected and not sold to a third party, they”d be willing to cooperate.

Showcase how the use of data can benefit the customers

Consumers want compensation for the data they share. They want retailers to prove that giving more data can enhance their experience. If the tradeoff is convincing enough, then, sharing personal information will not be seen as an obstacle, but rather like a positive contribution to their experience.

Will the West follow China’s lead? Will it make data privacy an alien concept or will it resist the data revolution? Only the future will tell!