The e-commerce giant’s focus on enhancing customer experience and strategic investments has resulted in notable year-over-year growth, despite challenging market conditions.

Strategic Initiatives and Business Review

Alibaba’s strategic initiatives have significantly impacted key sectors, including e-commerce, cloud computing, digital media, and logistics. The company’s focus on improving user experience, technological advancements, and expanding international commerce has paid off.

• E-commerce: Alibaba’s Taobao and Tmall Group saw a 4% year-over-year revenue growth, reaching RMB 93.2 billion, driven by a 5% increase in customer management revenue. The group also reported double-digit growth in online GMV and orders.
• Cloud Computing: The Cloud Intelligence Group reported a 3% revenue increase, reaching RMB 25.6 billion, with a notable 45% rise in adjusted EBITA. This growth was driven by higher adoption of public cloud services and AI products.
• International Commerce: The Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group experienced a 45% revenue increase to RMB 27.4 billion, thanks to strong performance in cross-border e-commerce, particularly from AliExpress.
• Logistics: Cainiao Smart Logistics Network’s revenue surged by 30% to RMB 24.6 billion, primarily due to increased demand for cross-border fulfillment services.
• Local Services Group: Reported a 19% revenue increase to RMB 14.6 billion, driven by Ele.me and Amap’s strong order growth.
• Digital Media and Entertainment Group: Revenue slightly decreased by 1% to RMB 4.9 billion, despite growth in Alibaba Pictures and Damai.

Financial Highlights

Alibaba’s financial results for the March quarter demonstrated resilience and strategic growth:

• Revenue: The company reported a 7% year-over-year increase in revenue, totaling RMB 221.9 billion (US$30.7 billion).
• Income from Operations: Despite a 3% decline, income from operations stood at RMB 14.8 billion (US$2.0 billion).
• Net Income: Net income attributable to ordinary shareholders decreased by 96% to RMB 919 million (US$127 million), mainly due to investment losses.
• Adjusted EBITA: Non-GAAP adjusted EBITA decreased by 5% to RMB 24.4 billion (US$3.3 billion).
• Share Repurchases and Dividends: Alibaba repurchased US$12.5 billion worth of shares in fiscal 2024 and announced a US$4.0 billion dividend.

Alibaba’s Q1 2024 results highlight the success of its strategic initiatives and investments in enhancing customer experience and technological infrastructure. The company’s focus on e-commerce, cloud computing, and international expansion positions it well for future growth. As Alibaba continues to innovate and adapt, it remains committed to delivering value to shareholders and capturing new market opportunities.

Ant Group, the official payment partner for the Hangzhou Asian Games, announced that Alipay had completed the support for overseas users to use mobile payment services in China.

Athletes and tourists from around the world can now enjoy various convenient services across the country using Alipay, including shopping, hailing a taxi, taking the subway, and visiting tourist attractions.

To use these services, users must download the Alipay app, click “Register Account”, and select the “International Version”. After completing the registration, users can click on “Add Now” to enter the card binding page and follow the prompts to complete the card binding operation.

Alipay now supports international card organizations such as Visa, Mastercard, and Discover Global Network (including Diners Club). Furthermore, the usage of Alipay after binding an international card is no different from using a domestic bank card, supporting both QR code payment and payment code payment.

Similarly, Tencent announced a deepened cooperation with international card organizations such as Visa, Discover Global Network (including Diners Club), JCB, and Mastercard.

This collaboration aims to systematically open up WeChat Pay’s merchant network in various cities in China. Inbound individuals can activate WeChat Pay by using their passport, Hong Kong and Macau Residents Travel Permit (Home Return Permit), Taiwan Residents Travel Permit (Taiwan Compatriot Permit), Hong Kong and Macau Residents Residence Permit, Taiwan Residents Residence Permit, and Foreign Permanent Resident ID.

After binding an international bank card, they can conveniently consume at millions of small and medium-sized merchants.

These developments mark a significant step towards making mobile payments more accessible to foreigners in China, providing them the same convenience that local residents enjoy. It is expected to significantly enhance the experience of foreign visitors in China, especially in the context of the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games.

Taobao emerged as a defensive strategy against potential C2C competition from eBay’s Chinese platform, Eachnet​. Taobao’s innovative strategies, such as introducing Alipay to ensure secure transactions, helped it secure a substantial market share.

On the 20th anniversary of its founding, Taobao is set to host the most significant 618 Shopping Festival to date. The festival’s evolution mirrors the transformative growth of e-commerce, driven by platforms like Taobao, which have revolutionized how people shop and interact with retailers.

For 2023, Taobao’s strategy for the 618 Shopping Festival revolves around transforming consumers into creators.

In an era where user-generated content has become integral to online engagement, Taobao aims to elevate the shopping experience beyond a simple transaction. This shift aligns with the broader trend in e-commerce, which has been accelerated by the global pandemic, towards more interactive and personalized shopping experiences.

Regarding impact on China’s economy, the 618 Shopping Festival’s contribution to Alibaba’s total revenue is significant​.

The event has grown exponentially since its inception, reflecting the rapid growth of China’s e-commerce sector. The 2023 edition of the festival is expected to further boost this growth trajectory, given the increased scale and novel consumer engagement strategies planned for this year.

The allure of low prices has always been a critical characteristic of online shopping festivals. However, in recent years, the price war has extended from festival periods to daily transactions, with short-term subsidies transitioning into long-term ones.

This shift has led to debates around the necessity of these online shopping festivals, especially as low prices have become somewhat of a norm in the aftermath of the pandemic.

Yet, low prices often come with certain preconditions or basic requirements. For instance, JD.com’s low prices have traditionally been established on multi-item discounts.

However, this year’s 618 Shopping Festival may improve the quality of service (such as half-day delivery service by Cainiao) and lower the threshold for discounted prices based on purchase quantity.

This approach focuses on the keyword “low price,” enhances service quality, and broadens the customer base. Despite low prices becoming a norm, festival periods offer an upgraded shopping experience compared to ordinary days.

In the current environment, improving the return on investment (ROI) for marketing communications remains a significant challenge for the entire industry. This challenge is primarily due to the broader economic environment, which has led to a trend of consumption downgrade.

The biggest dilemma is identifying target customers and stimulating consumer enthusiasm in challenging circumstances. The difficulties in content creation for product promotion and fulfillment of product promises play a significant role.

While merchants have adopted live streaming and digital marketing, attracting traffic in a fiercely competitive market using forms the audience enjoys is a major challenge.

Another concern is maintaining operations after traffic conversion, such as improving the customer experience (product quality and fulfillment, after-sales service, etc.). The entire process involves a long chain of stages, each demanding high professionalism and the ability to respond flexibly to market changes.

As the 618 Shopping Festival approaches, how should merchants prepare in advance? It is crucial to ensure sufficient preparation for product stock and transport capacity. For product inventory, merchants should rely heavily on data-driven predictions to stock up sufficiently in advance.

This preparation should not only be adequate in terms of quantity but also detailed in terms of warehouse distribution and logistics delivery.

At the end of 2022, during the Double 12 shopping festival, some users received their goods only after a month, leaving a bitter taste about the “express” delivery.

Most major platforms have deployed highly automated and intelligent warehouse logistics systems in key consumer markets. Barring uncontrollable factors such as adverse weather, delivery delays should be less frequent.

The issue during the 2022 Double 12 festival was partly due to the widespread transmission of the pandemic. Given the current state of pandemic transmission, a similar situation is unlikely to occur.

Nevertheless, express delivery companies should prepare and plan equipment maintenance, debugging, and personnel deployment. Platforms and merchants should prepare and plan sufficiently for sales predictions and stock-up.

618 Sales

This year no specific GMV or sales data are released from any major e-commerce platforms in China.

Alibaba Group’s Taobao and Tmall Business Group recorded an unprecedented level of merchant participation in China’s mid-year shopping festival, the 6.18, held from May 26 to June 20, spotlighting positive signs of Chinese consumers’ post-pandemic spending prowess.

Data released by Taobao & Tmall on Monday exhibited a paradigm shift in consumer behavior, particularly a surge in livestreaming viewership and short video consumption.

During the 6.18 festival, the daily average of short video views on Taobao, a consumer-to-consumer marketplace, increased by 113% from the previous year. Daily short-form video releases from influencers and Taobao merchants have increased by 200% and 55%, respectively, year over year.

Moreover, the festival witnessed a 139% year-over-year increase in content creators initiating livestreaming on Taobao. Consumers’ viewing time on the app doubled, demonstrating the growing influence of digital content in the e-commerce landscape.

The Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of merchants reportedly swelled two to three-fold year-over-year. A total of 305 brands achieved sales above RMB 100 million ($13.99 million) just after the stroke of midnight on June 18.

Additionally, over 2.56 million small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) outperformed last year’s festival, with 1.18 million SMEs each surpassing a GMV of RMB 10,000.

The festival also shed light on new consumer trends, with items like watersports shoes, suitcases, and sunscreen masks being the hot favorites. Around 180,000 customers purchased watersports shoes, while suitcases and sunscreen masks were snapped up by 1.65 million and 930,000 people, respectively.

Apple, which held a rare livestream and offered discounts on its products, including the iPhone 14 Pro and Apple Watch Series 8, saw their broadcast attract 1.3 million viewers and collect 300,000 likes within the first hour.

In this year’s 6.18 shopping festival, video-sharing platform Bilibili saw a surge in its e-commerce advertising revenue, which jumped by more than 400% year-on-year.

Product promotion is becoming a new revenue growth engine for both Bilibili and its content creators, with the number of promoters more than tripling compared to last year’s 6.18.

As the consumption and transaction ecosystem thrives, the number of promotional videos on the site has increased nearly eightfold year-on-year, while the number of promotional livestreams has grown almost 7.5 times over the same period.

During the 6.18 period on Bilibili, the number of content creators who received orders from advertisers through Huahuo increased by over 40% year-on-year.

According to data from the “Spark Program,” which is linked to the Taobao Union (Taobao’s affiliate program), in industries such as home decor and cosmetics, Bilibili accounted for more than 70% of new customers for merchant shops.

Zhihu, a Chinese question-and-answer website, saw a 155.1% year-on-year increase in queries related to “how to choose products.” By the end of May, the volume of content related to “618” on Zhihu had increased by 272% month-on-month, while search volume had risen by 240% over the same period.

UnionPay Flash supports the top-up payment of QCoin, QQ Music, and Tencent Videos. WeChat Mini Programs will gradually support Flash Pay, being in beta test since 22 September.

On October 2nd, Alipay announced the progress in promoting interconnection with China UnionPay. it has opened online payment scenes to the UnionPay Flash app, covering the first batch of 85% Taobao merchants.

For offline, it has also implemented QR code scanning and mutual recognition with UnionPay Flash payment in multiple cities and plans to cover all cities in China by March 2022.

UnionPay, also known as China UnionPay or by its abbreviation, CUP or UPI internationally, is a Chinese financial services corporation headquartered in Shanghai, China. It provides bank card services and a major card scheme in mainland China.

Founded on 26 March 2002, China UnionPay is an association for China’s banking card industry, operating under the approval of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC, central bank of China).

It is also an electronic funds transfer at point of sale (EFTPOS) network, and the only interbank network in China that links all the automatic teller machine (ATMs) of all banks throughout the country.

In 2015, UnionPay overtook Visa and Mastercard in a total amount of value of payment transactions made by customers and became the largest card payment processing organization (debit and credit cards combined) in the world after the two.

China’s 3rd-party payment market 2021-2025e: mobile vs. internet

Jingdong (JD.com) total 11-day sales during Double 11 2020 grew by 32% YoY and reached 271.5 billion yuan (US$41.02 bn) in GMV. Tmall’s 11-day Singles’ Day sales reached 498.2 billion yuan (US$75.27 billion) with an increase of 26% YoY.

Tmall Historial Double 11 Sales

CIW Premium subscribers can download this year’s update on Double 11 here.

Double 11 Sales 2020

Lenovo reported total sales of 1.3 billion yuan in the first hour of the first day (1 Nov). Xiaomi received total sales of over 1 billion yuan in less than 20 minutes of the first day.

Tmall Double 11 Sales

In just two minutes, Tmall’s smart home sales exceeded 100 million yuan on the first day. And more than 1 million smart home devices were sold in one hour.

As of 1:00 a.m. on Nov 1, the total sales of Tmall Smart Speaker ranked first in the smarter speaker category. Among them, the total sales of smart screen products increased 14 times year on year.

By 1:51 am on Nov 1, 100 brands, including Apple, L’Oreal, Haier, Estee Lauder, Nike, Huawei, Midea, Lancome, Xiaomi, Adidas had a total sales of more than 100 million yuan (US$14.95 million). The most popular categories are 3C and cosmetics.

Update (11 Nov): According to the data of Taobao Live, the proportion of GMV via live streaming exceeded 60%, and the number of live streaming merchants increased by 220%. Taobao Live promoted more than 4 million employment opportunities.

Alibaba Tmall Double 11 total GMV in 2020 reached 372.3 billion yuan (US$56.46 bn) as of 00:30 am on 11 November.

Update (12 Nov): Tmall’s 11-day Singles’ Day sales reached 498.2 billion yuan (US$75.27 billion).

• 250,000 brands in total participated in Double 11 this year, of which 31,000 are overseas brands. Within these overseas brands, 2,600 participated in 11.11 for the first time.
• 357 emerging brands became top sellers in their respective subcategories. More than 1,800 emerging brands surpassed their GMV from Double 11 last year and, of these, 94 emerging brands enjoyed sales growth of over 1,000%.
• Under Alibaba’s Spring Thunder initiative, 1.2 million merchants and 300,000 factories focused on overseas trade from more than 2,000 industry clusters across China participated in Double 11.
• AI customer chatbot handled over 2.1 billion queries during the 11-day period.
• The United States was the top country selling to China by GMV.
  • Other top-selling countries to China, in alphabetical order, include: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, New Zealand and UK.

JD.com Double 11 Sales

Jingdong (JD) released the first day Double 11 report, and the turnover of the whole day increased by more than 90% year on year.

According to JD big data, FMCG products such as milk and dairy products, shampoo, rice, biscuit cake and paper drawing have become the top five categories in terms of sales, while 3C household appliances such as mobile phones, washing machines, flat-panel TVs, refrigerators, laptops and other household appliances rank first by total sales.

JD Plus, which recently reached 20 million members, saw a lot of activity on Nov 1st. The number of new users on Nov. 1st increased 113% YoY.

JD’s C2M home appliances, which have quickly become popular for their high cost-to-performance ratio also performed well. Twenty products from this line selected as priority quickly exceeded sales of RMB 200 million yuan on the first day.

Personal care home appliances grew 180% on the first day of sales, among which makers of hair dryers, electric razors and more such as Dyson, Philips, Flyco, Panasonic, Braun and Oral B were highest ranked in terms of sales.

Mobile phone sales in half an hour saw 314% growth. JD’s special mobile phone for the elderly saw eight times growth in the first 15 minutes, while users who participated in JD’s trade in program in the first 30 minutes increased 465%.

JD Luxury saw whole day sales on Nov. 1 up 138% YoY. In the first 30 minutes, 127 brands including Ferragamo, Ralph Lauren and Tod’s saw sales up 10 times YOY. International jewelry brands were up six times.

Update (11 Nov): JD Double 11 total GMV in 2020 since 1 November exceeded 200 billion yuan (US$30.33 bn) as of 00:09 am on 11 November. Here are a few quick highlights:

• In 6 seconds sales generated from live-streaming exceeded RMB 100 million yuan
• In the first 11 minutes, JD private label sales exceeded sales of the whole day on Nov. 11^th last year
• Haier, Midea, Gree and other brands sold over RMB 100 million yuan in products in one minute
• Huawei Mate 40 sales in 7 seconds exceeded RMB 100 million yuan
• Over 100,000 computers were sold in 10 minutes
• The turnover of JD Super, JD’s online supermarket increased 10 times YOY in the first five mins of sales
• JD Fresh increased 5 times YOY in the same timeframe
• JD’s international business saw transaction volume increase more than 120% YOY in the first 10 minutes
• JD’s imported goods supermarket saw turnover increase 2.5 times month-on-month
• 93% of first party orders placed during the Singles Day Grand Promotion have been delivered to customers in 24 hours

JD’s Consumer-to-Manufacturer (C2M) home appliances, which quickly became popular in the market because of their high-cost performance and ability to meet consumers’ demands, were highly sought after during the Singles Day period.

Twenty products hand selected by JD as development priorities quickly exceeded RMB 200 million yuan when the official sales period kicked off on Nov. 1^st.

C2M relies heavily on JD’s supply chain abilities. JD helped with sales forecasts for 33,000 brands and 5 million products and automatically deployed them to the locations nearest to users in advance.

Update (12 Nov): Jingdong (JD.com) total sales during Double 11 2020 grew by 32% YoY and reached 271.5 billion yuan (US$41.02 bn) in GMV.

Starbucks saw one-day GMV growth of over 90% YoY on 11 Nov to 200 million yuan.

Other Platforms

Suning reported 5 billion yuan sales across all channels as of 00:19 am on 11 Nov.

Gome GMV increased by 166%. In terms of online platforms, the sales of general merchandise increased by 237% month on month, and that of maternal and infant commodities increased by 314%.

Xiaomi reported total sales of 14.3 billion yuan across all platforms in the 11-day sales.

Come back soon; we’ll update with the latest information on Double 11. You can subscribe to e-newsletter or paid subscription. 

Dossier: Double 11

How JD penetrates lower-tier cities with social e-commerce initiative

Double 11 Introduction

Alibaba Tmall Double 11

Alibaba Taobao kicked off its Double Eleven Global Shopping Festival (“Double 11”), the largest annual shopping festival in China, on 21 October 2020 with new innovations and features to meet rapidly changing consumer trends.

These include the participation of Alipay’s digital lifestyle platform; broader consumer reach and bigger promotions, “double” the number of shopping windows that will spotlight more brands, products and special offers, and the popular live streaming technology creating more fun and engagement for Chinese consumers with the largest international presence to date.

For many brands, Double 11 is the single biggest growth driver every year and this year will be no exception. Check out Double 11 2019 performance.

Read our guide on Double 11 here.

Deepening Engagement to Create “Double” Opportunities

This year the Taobao/Tmall Double 11 Festival expands the concept from “single” to “double,” enabling merchants to double up on promoting their products to consumers across China not just once, but twice, according to Alibaba’s official announcement.

A new sales window will be added from November 1 to 3 on Taobao/Tmall platforms, ahead of the main event on November 11, with the aim of providing merchants, specifically new brands and small businesses, the opportunity to showcase their products and tell their brand stories amid the pandemic.

Double 11 has become one of the most important new product launch events of the year for many brands. This year, more than 2 million new products will be introduced, which is double the amount compared to last year.

Double 11 will be offering more opportunities for merchants both online and offline to engage with consumers as well as provide a better consumer experience overall.

This year’s Taobao Double 11 experience will also be enhanced by Alipay’s digital lifestyle platform, which brings together nearly 2 million local service providers offering special promotions in more than 100 cities.

Offline small- and micro-merchants across China, such as street stalls and neighborhood grocery stores, will be able to participate in the excitement of Double 11 by connecting with consumers through Alipay’s digital lifestyle platform.

Big Growth Driver for Participating Brands

Alibaba launched Spring Thunder Initiative early this year as a continuous effort on merchants empowerment and Double 11 is yet another milestone to help merchants regain growth.

This year’s Taobao Double 11 Festival will feature 14 million value-for-money products from more than 250,000 brands available on Tmall.

Also, to cater for the needs of customers in lower-tier cities, Taobao Deals’ “RMB1 Sales” campaign will enable consumers to purchase goods at huge discounts with free shipping.

To meet Chinese consumers’ increasing demand for international products, Tmall Global will bring more than 2,600 new overseas brands to Chinese consumers for the first time. Alibaba’s cross-border e-commerce platform Kaola will also join Double 11 for the first time, featuring products from 89 countries and regions.

Live streaming and Logistics Core to the Event

Live streaming is expected to take the center stage of this year’s Taobao/Tmall Double 11.

In addition to sessions hosted by top live streamers, about 400 company executives and 300 celebrities will also hold individual live streaming sessions. Taobao Live will offer sessions ranging from cosmetics, electronics, to cars and houses.

New features like online property viewings and virtual vehicle test drives will provide a more realistic and engaging experience to help consumers with their buying decisions. Alibaba’s DAMO Academy will use artificial intelligence technology to create its first virtual live streaming host while Fliggy will host travel-related live streams.

This year’s event will have the largest international presence since it was founded in 2009.

AliExpress now sells to more than 200 countries and regions worldwide. Lazada was the first to bring the shopping festival concept to Southeast Asia across six markets – Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Shopping festivals such as Double 11 have also become one of the key industry growth drivers as local small-and-medium businesses participate in this biggest event alongside LazMall, the region’s largest online mall with more than 18,000 local and international brands.

This year Lazada will continue its “shoppertainment” features ranging from live streaming to new consumer games and innovations such as voice search to find items.

Alibaba’s robust technology and logistics infrastructure is the backbone of the Double 11 Shopping Festival. Cainiao will charter approximately 700 flights during Double 11. More than 50% of this year’s cross-border parcels are expected to be delivered twice as fast as its usual speed.

JD Double 11

JD also kicked off its Double 11 2020 campaign on 21 October 2020. JD is expected to be the first choice of consumers buying 3C products (mostly computer, consumer electronics, and communication products) in this year’s Singles Day promotion, according to Nielsen.

Double 11 Pre-sales

Nearly 140 million items were sold during the pre-sales period from October 21st to 28th, an increase of over 42.3% from the same period last year, of which JD.com sales increased by 85.5%, according to O&O Consulting.

Products worth more than RMB 1,000 yuan accounted for 48.3% of JD’s pre-sales. Pre-sales of medicine and health care on JD increased by 378% YoY while home furnishings increased by 79.3%. One of the reasons cited for the increase is people’s yearning for a sense of security and stability after a very tumultuous start to 2020.

During the pre-sales, home appliances, computer and office supplies, maternal and child, medical and health care and other categories saw growth of over 100% YoY, indicating that after the epidemic consumer demand to “settle down” has become more important.

According to JD’s own data, from October 21st-29th advanced orders for health equipment, Chinese and western medicine, and traditional nourishment on JD’s platform increased more than 10 times compared with the same period last year.

Orders for fitness and exercise equipment increased more than three times, while health-conscious small home appliances increased four times YoY.

In terms of key sub-categories such as computers, electrical appliances and home furnishing, JD’s pre-sale volume of mid and high-end goods exceeded peers, especially in the home decoration category.

O&O data finds that consumers have a tendency to turn to JD for purchases in the durable consumer categories such as large household appliances, computers, and household appliances, with the platform making up 62.7%, 82.6% and 82.7% of pre-orders respectively by category.

Its revenues come mainly from the growth of digital financial technology platform revenue.

Its gross profit was 69.549 billion yuan (US$10.41 billion), a year-on-year increase of 74.28%; and, the overall gross profit margin increased to 58.84% from 48.13% in the same period last year.

Ant Group plans concurrent initial public offering IPO on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s STAR board (“SSE STAR” market) and The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the “SEHK”).

Credit Suisse expects Ant’s revenue to grow at 34% CAGR from 2019-2022e with digital fintech services as the key driver. It projects non-IFRS net profit to grow at 54% 2019-2022E CAGR.

S&P Global: Bank disruptors doubling down on mobile payments in China

The listings will help the company accelerate its goal of digitizing the service industry in China and driving domestic demand, as well as position the company to develop global markets with partners and expand investment in technology and innovation.

The innovative measures implemented by SSE STAR market and the SEHK have opened the doors for global investors to access leading edge technology companies from the most dynamic economies in the world and for those companies to have greater access to the capital markets. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to play a part in this development

said Eric Jing, Executive Chairman of Ant Group.

Ant Group aims to create the infrastructure and platform to support the digital transformation of the service industry.

Becoming a public company will enhance transparency to our stakeholders, including customers, business partners, employees, shareholders and regulators. Through our commitment to serving the under-served, we make it possible for the whole of society to share our growth

Mr. Jing said.

China’s mainland stock markets rose slightly in the morning session on 21 July 2020 following the news while shares related to Ant Group soared.

Alibaba-backed Ant Group is to raise US$10 billion in the Hong Kong IPO and the company could be valued at US$200 billion.

Ant Financial, the previously used company name of Ant Group, was created in 2014 to encompass Alipay and Alibaba’s bigger push into fintech. In 2018, Alibaba bought a 33% stake in Ant Financial. Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba, still holds the controlling stake in Ant Group.

The Ant Group first announced its share structure in 2013, clearly announcing that the employee stock ownership would reach 40%. On July 13, 2020, Alibaba released its fiscal year 2020 report, which shows that Ma Yun holds about 8.8% of the shares in Ant Group and has 50% voting rights.

At present, Alibaba holds 33% of the shares of Ant Group, Jun Han and Jun Ao hold 50% of the shares of ant group. Jun Han belongs to Ma Yun and employees of Alibaba and Ant Group, and Jun Ao is part of Alibaba partnership. As the employees are still the largest shareholders of Ant Group, this also triggered speculation about how many multimillionaires and billionaires will be born after the IPO.

Check out Ant Group Performance here.

The gap between residents of second-tier and third-tier cities and those from first-tier cities is rapidly narrowing in terms of per capita outbound destinations, travel expenditure, and travel budget according to a report from Nielsen.

On per capita outbound destinations, there was virtually no difference between those in second-tier and first-tier cities.

In terms of per capita annual overseas travel expenditure, the difference between residents in third-tier and first-tier cities significantly dropped from USD 1,7241 in 2018 to USD606 in 2019.

On travel budget for the year 2020, the gap between residents in third-tier and first-tier cities shrank sharply from USD 1,859 in 2018 to USD 614 in 2019. The Nielsen survey also found that Chinese tourists from lower-tier cities had more definite future travel plans.

In 2019, the number of transactions Chinese tourists made via mobile payment continued to increase. On average, Chinese tourists paid via mobile payment 3.4 times out of every 10 payments in 2019, up from 3.2 times in 2018.

Chinese tourists’ focus on shopping had transformed because of more abundant forms of promotional and marketing activities provided by Chinese mobile payment.

European Merchants Accelerated Adoption of Chinese Mobile Payment

92% of Chinese tourists traveling to Europe said they are more likely to pay with mobile phones if more local merchants supported Chinese mobile payment solutions, and 89% said that they are more likely to shop and spend locally.

In the U.K. and France, the percentage of Chinese tourists who used mobile payments increased to 65% in 2019, with per capita mobile spending increased by about 10%.

Mobile Payments Facilitates Digital Operations of Merchants

88% of merchants in the Nielsen survey who have used additional services on Chinese payment platforms recognized that these solutions helped market their stores, and 63% believed that mobile payment and related services improved the efficiency of store management.

Nearly 70% of the U.K. merchants surveyed have begun utilizing services beyond payment on Alipay. 82% witnessed an increase in sales and customer traffic after connecting to the Chinese mobile payment platforms.

The integration of online and offline retail with a more digitized operation has further enhanced the consumer experience for Chinese tourists when traveling overseas and has resulted in a new experience for overseas merchants in their digital transformation.

More Overseas Merchants May Deepen Their Use of Chinese Mobile Payment Platforms

South Korea and Singapore, when it comes to their future store operation and management, 66% of surveyed merchants hope to carry out more digital store operations through Chinese mobile payment, and 66% of them hope to further store promotional and marketing activities leveraging Chinese mobile payment platforms.

Integrated in Alibaba’s ecosystem, Alipay helped merchants realize traffic monetization from both online and offline channels, which is appealing to regions that have embraced Chinese mobile payments.

78% of the U.K. merchants surveyed said that they are likely to recommend Alipay to their industry peers in the future.

Top Travel Destinations

In 2019, destinations within a four-hour flight are still the most popular choices for Chinese tourists. Countries including Japan, South Korea, Thailand, and Singapore are still their favorites. And, the U.S., Australia, the U.K., and Canada are also among the top 10 countries.

Turkey rose to the top 20 destinations for Chinese tourists for the first time in 2019.

Top 5 countries where Chinese tourists love to use mobile payments are Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Australia, and Thailand.

And, the top 10 destinations in 2020 according to Nielsen’s survey are Japan, South Korea, the U.S., Australia, Singapore, New Zealand, France, Thailand, Maldives, and Italy.

The report also shows that lower-tier cities provide more driving force in the Chinese outbound tourism market, niche destinations gradually gained popularity among all age groups, young tourists spent more on a single trip.

CIW subscribers (annual membership) can download the report here.

Live broadcast is not necessarily limited to a single “product”; orchard, factory assembly line, … can also be used to push product sales.

Hosts competition is also a major highlight during this year’s Double 12. The winner of the daytime session will get the chance to join the top hosts in the evening.

Industrial live broadcasting is another important theme for this year. From December 1 to 8, Taobao Live will carry out 8 consecutive days’ direct supply of industrial goods. In addition, it will also empower the hosts of local industrial resources.

The theme of Taobao double 12 this year is creativity and personalization. In addition to “20 yuan off 200 purchase”, small and medium-sized businesses on Taobao could deeply tap the diverse needs of young consumers.

Different from previous years, this year’s Double 12 Alipay Lifestyle Festival was started by Alipay jointly with platforms in Alibaba’s ecosystem including Koubei, Ele.me, Taopiaopiao (movie tickets platform), and OTA Fliggy.

Compared with e-commerce, the promotion of retail store will launch on the day of “Double 12”, and citizens are more willing to go to the physical store for consumption.

JD Double 12 2019

On November 22, Jingdong announced the strategic upgrade of large import business, integrating its cross-border goods and general trade import goods, and having officially launched the first domestic consumption platform focusing on large import business – Jingdong International, a one-stop consumption platform for imported goods.

JD started warming up for Double 12 on 1 December with the theme of “12.12 JD Warm Festival”.

Pinduoduo

Pinduoduo announced that its “global shopping” business has set up “global shopping overseas stations” in the United States, UK, Germany, and Japan, targeting Black Friday shoppers through comprehensive measures such as global direct purchase, free trade zone direct shipping, free delivery, and RMB 10 billion subsidies.

From midnight on November 28, nearly 500 international brands and more than 20,000 international popular imported goods started cross-border shopping for six days.

Pinduoduo offers 30 yuan off every 159 yuan purchase for Double 12. It also launched authentic product insurance in combination with PICC insurance to ensure that the “10 billion” subsidized brand are authentic and genuine.

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QQ (Tencent) introduced the “One-click Comment” function and managed to explored new sources of traffic. Alipay introduced the “Comment after Payment” function. WeChat (Tencent) introduced the Notification Subscription and Industry Assistant functions to support its mini-apps. TikTok launched a dedicated page for mini-apps, and at the same time introduced its Karaoke mini-app, further complementing ByteDance mini-program ecosystem.

Meituan, as a late-comer, also launched its own mini-program platform in October this year, further heating up the competition.

According to anlaytics company Aladdin’s October ranking of mini-apps, distribution of top mini-programs by category witnessed a significant change.

Online shopping mini-programs have reclaimed the top places on the list. Life services mini-programs showed outstanding performance while mini-apps in the video and travel categories dropped significantly in terms of ranking.

In the vertical markets, the Golden Week long holiday boosted the demand for portable power bank, leading to a significant climb on the list of phone charging related mini-apps.

The distribution by category of the newcomers on the list showed an apparent trend of pre-heating of the Double Eleven Festival 2019: the number of new or updated online shopping mini-apps increased significantly.

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Alipay has just introduced a version of its popular app designed specifically for international travelers to enjoy the ease of paying with their smartphones while visiting mainland China. And, no local mobile number or bank account is required.

Alipay, together with its local e-wallet partners in Asia, already serves more than 1.2 billion users with its widely adopted QR code payment services.

In China, users can also access services such as paying for taxis, hotel room bookings, and movie tickets, directly within the app. However, because access typically requires a local phone number and Chinese bank account, short-term international visitors previously could not use mobile payments in China.

How can foreigners now get an Alipay account?

To begin using the International Version of Alipay, visitors can download Alipay for iOS or Android and register with an overseas mobile phone number to access the “Tour Pass” mini program. Users need to submit proof of a valid Chinese tourist visa and passport.

So how do you top up your Alipay account?

Visitors in China can use their international debit or credit cards to load funds onto a prepaid card provided by the Bank of Shanghai within the “Tour Pass” mini program.

What about the remaining fund when you leave the country?

The minimum top-up for each card is RMB 100, with balance capped at RMB 2,000 ($285). The card is valid for 90 days, after which any remaining funds will be refunded automatically.

What can you use Alipay to pay for?

International travelers will be able to pay for shopping, dining, movie and attraction tickets, taxis and more when traveling in China.

According to a week-long informal poll conducted by Alipay on Twitter, about 220 out of 1240 respondents (18%) felt that the biggest annoyance when visiting China was not being able to pay with their mobile phones as the locals do.

More visitors are arriving in China every year as the country eases visa requirements to boost tourism.

In 2018, China received 30.5 million international visitors from overseas, an increase of 4.7 percent from the year before, according to government data. These tourists are also spending more, with expenditure on hotels, shopping, and food rising 5.1% to a total of US$73.1 billion last year.

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During the National Day Golden Week (October 1-7) this year, online consumption is showing trends towards refinement, efficiency, and intelligence. Traveling is still the main way people spend their holidays. Overall, both consumption and tourism have shown trends of reshoring from abroad to domestic market and expansion from the first- and second-tier cities to the low-tier cities.

Conspicuous consumption is increasingly popular among Chinese. Data from Tmall shows that from October 1st to 3rd, compared to the same period last year, the sales of aromatic essential oils increased by 239.64%, perfumes by 50.59%, men’s makeup by 69.91%, sunscreens by 79.30% and makeup travel sets increased by 43.49%.

On the eve of the Golden Week, the sales of medical masks for sunburn repair and moisturizing on the Tmall’s healthcare platform showed a 510% increase compared to last year.

Foods and drinks is an ever-lasting theme for holidays in China. Consumers want to eat fresh food conveniently. In the first three days of the Golden Week, the sales of steaks increased by 60%, low-temperature milk by 191.39%, instant food and instant rice by 40.69% and 54.78% respectively, compared to the same period last year.

Tmall Supermarket’s data shows that from October 1st to 3rd, the number of people participated in the flash sale of Maotai (arguably the most famous Chinese liquor) reached 3 million. The sales of liquor increased by 12 times compared to last year. The total turnover of Tmall Supermarket increased by 40% compared to last year.

Hema, the new benchmark for retail, has opened 171 stores in 22 cities across the country. In the first three days of the Golden Week, the average daily sales of Hema stores across the country increased by 22% compared to normal days. In Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhou, the increase was 17.5%; and in second- and third-tier cities, the increase was close to 30%.

Many people who do not want to travel and see crowds of people have chosen to spend their time shopping and eating in Hema stores. According to data from Hema, in-store consumption in the first three days of the Golden Week increased by nearly 30%. The top ten best-selling products were all seafood. The sales of king crabs increased by 3,000%, compared to the same period last year, and over 40,000 Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs were sold.

Home living has become increasingly intelligent. From October 1st to 3rd, on Tmall, the sales of indoor fresh air systems increased by 111%, electric curtains by 168%, home security cameras by 84%, robot cleaners by 17 times and electric mops and brooms by 23 times, compared to the same period last year.

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