China E-Commerce

Tmall Global to launch O2O retail stores

Interesting developments in the China cross-border e-commerce market: Tmall Global will launch 23 offline stores in Hangzhou as an initial test run. The stores will offer a mix of approx. 70% immediately available imported products as well as 30% of inventory through O2O cross-border shipped foreign products. The offline retail expansion will be in cooperation with Chinese department store operator Intime Retail Group - one of Alibaba's 2014 investments into brick & mortar retailing.

Web2Asia is excited to have one of our clients participate in the first roll-out and are looking forward to sharing further updates.

Source: ebrun

China E-Commerce

Alibaba to Start Telecom Services in China

Alibaba, China’s biggest e-commerce group, will be launching Chinese telecom services in June. The company received China’s first mobile virtual network operating licenses late last year. The exact details of the services will remain under wraps, but it has been reported that Alibaba has coordinated with China’s major telecom companies – China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom – to offer the ultimate services to millions of mobile users. Alibaba is actually among 11 companies approved by Chinese regulators to operate virtual network in China.

Source: Wall Street Journal

China E-Commerce

14% of Chinese Shop Online Everyday

According to a report created by PricewaterhouseCoopers, 14% of Chinese respondents shop online daily. Over 60% claim to shop online at least once a week, which is much higher than the global average of just 5% who shop online everyday and 21% every week. When it comes to mobile shopping, Chinese consumers ranked first, with 4% of respondents shopping via mobile everyday, 20% using it once a week, and 27% once a month. The global percentages are 2%, 7%, and 12%, respectively.

Source: China Internet Watch

China E-Commerce

Chinese online market revenue and mobile users increase exponentially

The Ministry of culture today released a report stating that the popularity of mobile Internet and more specifically online music increased remarkably. Market revenue of China’s online music business reached 7.41 Billion Yuan, an increase of 63.2% since 2012, while the online music market increased 140% to 4.36 Billion Yuan.

Of particular interest were the online user figures. The number of online users only increased by 4.6% to 450 million people, however the number of mobile music users grew 203% from 96 million to 291 million, highlighting the huge move towards mobile Internet usage. Although the report sounds promising there were still problems regarding network efficiency, which plagued the development of the music industry, but the Ministry of Culture has said they will focus on improving policies and regulations to progress the integrity and effectiveness of the system in order to promote continued prosperity and healthy development.

Source: Alibuybuy

China E-Commerce

China Overtakes the U.S. as the Biggest Online Spenders

The Chinese e-commerce industry is predicted to be worth $541 billion USD by the year 2015. In fact, 49% of the population made an online purchase last year, a figure that is meant to increase to 71% by 2017. The demographic of the Chinese online consumer is comprised primarily of younger people, with 60% of the consumers under the age of 30. They are also considered to be affluent – online spending is highest in China’s tier one cities, and those earning more than 5,000 RMB per month are likelier to make online purchases. The market is also dominated by mobile devices, with 464 million of its 591 million internet users opting to use their smartphones or mobile devices to surf the web.

Source: The Future of Commerce

China Digital

WeChat adds image recognition feature which can benefit online-retailers

 Since the release of the WeChat 5.0 version (launched in August last year) users could already learn more about a product like books or music albums by scanning the barcode on the cover or packaging and be redirected to the company website – and in some instances directly to the e-commerce sites for purchase.

This week WeChat released a new Image Recognition Feature. Now users no longer have to rely on barcodes but can simply scan a book cover and e.g. read reviews from Douban Book (a popular chinese platform for book ratings and reviews) or purchase the book directly from online retailer Dangdang.com. WeChat plans further enhancements to this service which is currently offered for free.

Source:Technode

Source:JingDaily

China E-Commerce

French Ready-To-Wear Brand Cache-Cache to accelerate it’s development in China E-Commerce.

As part of its development strategy in China, the French ready-to-wear brand Cache-Cache has decided to step on the accelerator for their investments in the Chinese e-commerce market. The brand has over 850 brick-and-mortar stores across the country and is already selling its products on Tmall. Cache-Cache is now considering to have its own platform of e-commerce to reclaim its online business in order to support its omni-channel strategy based on web-to-store. Online sales should allow the brand an annual growth of 30%.

Source: Les échos de la franchise

China E-Commerce

JD.com to Develop its O2O Model

Jingdong has signed with about 10,000 Chinese convenience stores to establish an innovative online-to-offline retail plan. These 10,000 convenience stores will cover 15 cities, and will include brands like Quik, Good Neighbors, Buddies, C&U, and Meijiya. The deals will let Chinese customers buy items online and have them delivered or be picked up at physical locations. It will also let them use online payment methods at the brick-and-mortar stores themselves.

Source: China Tech News

China E-Commerce

Why Foreign Brands Use Tmall

When considering selling their products in China, foreign companies simply cannot ignore the influence and significance that Tmall has on the market. The site attracts hundreds of millions of Chinese shoppers, a fact that should not be overlooked. Asos, having officially entered China a few months ago with a bit of a thud, has realized this and will finally be opening its official Tmall flagship store in April, offering a 50% off cardigan sweater to attract customers. Tmall, with over 2,000 foreign brands and 70,000 sellers in total, dominates 45% of the B2C e-commerce sales in China. Alibaba’s impending IPO, which is slated to be one of the biggest public offerings in U.S. history, has the potential to increase the platform’s exposure and allow it to more easily attract foreign brands. With a growing Chinese middle class comes the desire for more foreign goods.

Source: Wall Street Journal

China E-Commerce

Tencent Invests in South Korean Mobile Game Company

Tencent has invested $500 million USD for a stake in South Korea’s CJ Games. CJ games develops both casual and more in-depth mobile RPG games. The casual ones are meant to be integrated with Korea’s KakaoTalk and its social gaming functions. When the deal is finalized, Tencent will own 28% of CJ Games. Not only does Tencent have the country’s most popular messaging app, WeChat, is is also China’s biggest gaming company. The deal could bring some of Korea’s games to China via WeChat.

Source: Tech In Asia

China E-Commerce

The Growth of China’s Electronic Payments is Going Strong

The vice president of Baidu has announced that Baidu will be establishing its own mobile game division by merging its Duokoo mobile game business with its 91 Wireless game business.

Source: Digital Journal

China E-Commerce

Tencent Invests in Mobile E-Commerce Site for Low-Income Phone Users

Maimaibao, a mobile commerce retailer that caters specifically to low-income mobile phone users, has received an undisclosed amount of funding led by Tencent. How does Maimaibao specifically target such users? It does so through implementation of a WAP mobile website, which is accessible from Symbian and feature phones on 2G networks. A majority of Chinese people who use such phones generally live and work in places that don’t offer access to PCs and are people who cannot afford to buy more advanced smartphones. What is WAP? It is a simplified protocol that was used on some phones before HTML was supported, and is still occasionally used for simple tasks such as email, reading news, downloading music, and checking stock prices. Not many websites actually support WAP these days, however. Maimaibao was one of the pioneering Chinese companies to enter the mobile commerce industry, and its focus is still on WAP. This new round of funding will be used to create a new budget smartphone under the brand Big Q, which already has three available models, all of which drive traffic to Maimaibao’s store. Maimaibo sold 200,000 of the phones last year, and is working towards selling a million this year. Maimaibao also saw a turnover of 2 billion RMB last year, and reported and average order of 300 RMB.

Source: Tech In Asia

China E-Commerce

Ordering Food is China’s Most Popular Offline-to-Online Activity

Many restaurants have been taking advantage of the Internet by allowing customers to order their food online via computers and smartphones. Various online food ordering services used different marketing initiatives, such as giving subsidies to restaurants and catering companies and announcing special offers and giveaways to customers. Yi Tao Shi, one of the major online food ordering companies, has 300 food delivery employees all around the country. The even bigger E Le Ma has established 12 branches throughout the nation. So how do these companies make profits? Typically from charging advertising fees from restaurants and commission fees from restaurant orders and fees collected from food delivery.

Source: Want China Times

China Digital

Promotion for U.S. Pork Goes Live on Tmall

A flagship store has opened on Tmall this week, one that guarantees delivery of eight U.S. pork items within 24-48 hours. The site is also offering discounts of up to 50% off during a seven-day sale celebrating its grand opening. The new site brought in more than 400,000 visitors within the first few hours of business. There was even a draw organized by the USMEF giving away a sample of American pork, which received 2,000 applications in the first hour. The pork products are sourced from three U.S. processors and are sold through three specialized distributors who deliver the frozen products in under 48 hours. The site is providing a wealth of information on U.S. pork products, including an informational video on the production of pork in the U.S. The distributors are also promising product quality buy providing a ten-fold money back guarantee. The USMEF has been working for a year to build up its online sales potential. Initial efforts were focused on assisting online vendors with ideas and expertise in order to better packaging so the geographical footprint of shipments could grow.

Source: KTIC Radio/a>

China Digital

WeChat in Midst of Testing POS Payment

It has been claimed that WeChat will launch its POS payment system on March 22 o fthis year. Its POS system will consist of customized POS machine and WeChat payment, targeting offline store payment. When a customer is purchasing goods, the special WeChat POS machine will generate a QR code to be scanned and paid with WeChat payment. This move is yet another push for WeChat’s offline to online integration plans and to enter the retail payment market.

Source: China Internet Watch

China Digital

Tencent Opens Its Payment Service to All Businesses

Tencent has done something big for its popular mobile messaging app, WeChat. It has added support for any brand to allow their consumers to make purchases or buy services within the app itself. It also works for in-store payments. With the app’s ubiquitous nature, this feature is sure to bring more brands to WeChat and more users to its payment feature.

Source:Tech In Asia

China Digital

Analyzing China’s Top Mobile Messenger Apps

Tencent’s WeChat and QQ have all the other competitors beat by quite a bit, with QQ’s 325.71 million active users and WeChat’s 295.712 million. Another point to note is that male usage outnumbers female usage by quite a bit, as males make up 61.69% of the demographic and females make up the rest. Users of such apps are predominantly in the 35 or below age group and from medium and low income backgrounds. When considering occupation, workers/service workers were the primary group, followed by public institution leaders and staff, and after that, students.

Source:China Internet Watch

China Digital

Alipay Discontinues WeChat’s API Payment Gateway

Not long ago, Alipay announced that it would shut down the application programming interface (API) payment gateway for Tencent’s WeChat public accounts platform, which would cause a bit of grief to WeChat in the short term, as it is still trying to establish its merchant groups. This isn’t the first time something like this has happened in the Chinese e-commerce world, however. In 2004, eBay tried to block Alibaba’s Taobao, but Taobao offered free listings to sellers and introduced website features created in the best interests of local consumers. Also, in 2008, Taobao blocked the search service of Baidu. This type of ‘blocking’ has become the norm in China’s internet industry and has resulted in fragmented user experience for Chinese consumers.

Source:Want China TImes

China Digital

Alibaba Teams Up with Retail Chain to Obtain Edge in O2O Market

Alibaba recently announced a joint campaign between Taobao’s mobile operations and five retail chain operators for the upcoming March 8th shopping festival. A trial service will be introduced at one Intime City mall in Hangzhou, allowing users to pay for their purchases by mobile phones rather than at the till. An Intime executive has said that e-commerce must be embraced by retailers. The partnership will let consumers consumers can connect online shopping options and those in the real world so that they can also make purchases at brick-and-mortar stores. Alibaba also plans to work with operators in marketing, traffic, member database, and payment services. Alipay will also offer discounts and bargains to users of its e-wallet mobile payment services at stores of seven convenience store chains.

Source:Want China Times

China Digital

Ctrip to Implement WeChat Payment Service for Purchasing Attraction Tickets

Users of this service will soon be able to buy train tickets, group-buy deals, gifts cards, and more. Unlike purchases for flight tickets, hotels, and other similar travel-related necessities, attraction tickets are more likely to purchased via mobile devices as they require smaller amounts of money and are usually needed during the actual time of travel. Purchases made through this WeChat payment system will be eligible for discounts of 20%-30%, while ordering through the proprietary Ctrip mobile app will allow users to receive a 5 RMB cash reward.

Source:Huaxia

China Digital

Tencent Likely to Buy Stake in Jingdong

Tencent has reportedly hired Barclays to advise on the matter of acquiring a part of JD.com, China’s second largest B2C e-commerce marketplace. This move will afford Tencent more leverage in competing in its multi-faceted rivalry with Alibaba, China’s other Internet giant.

Source:eBrun

China Digital

Baidu Continues to Obtain More Acquisitions in 2014

Despite a 50.3% rise in revenues year-on-year, net profits for Baidu dropped 0.4% during the last quarter. Most of this dip can be attributed to a veritable acquisition sprees that the other two Chinese Internet giants (Alibaba and Tencent) went on last year. In the past year, Baidu bought 91 Wireless, an Android app store, Nuomi, a group-buy site, a video portal, and Zongheng, and e-bookstore. 20% of Baidu’s total revenues, however, came from mobile, as it runs the fourth most popular android app store in China.

Source: Tech In Asia

China Digital

Jingdong Interested in the Virtual Credit Card Market

As we mentioned previously, JD.com has established its own virtual credit line for its customers, with much cheaper rates than traditional banks. How can the platform be able to charge so much less? It can do so because of the enormous amounts of shopping records that it has collected over time. For example, if a customer regularly buys maternity and baby products, that customer is more likely to have a family and stable income, thus resulting in personal credit. The question that now arises is: Will Jingdong’s credit service be able to replace some small credit cards? Some finance experts seem to think that it is indeed possible. However, what might be the biggest obstacle in JD’s way is the other Internet giants who are also trying to become major financial players.

Source: iResearch China

China E-Commerce

Record: Over 800K Weibo posts first minute of year of the horse

More than 34 million Weibo users interacted during the Spring Festival Gala and posts referring to the festival reached 45.41 million in a little more than four hours. It was, however, in the first minute of the New Year of the horse that the new record was set. 863 408 posts were published – compared to the previous year, when 808 298 posts reached the Weibo web. The first day of this year’s Chinese Spring Festival took place on the 31st of January.

Source: Xinua Net

China E-Commerce

Taobao will reward users who discover "hacker loopholes" with 50K RMB

A loophole that could be used to hack accounts was discovered on E-commerce site Taobao. Through the loophole hackers would be able to gain access of all sorts of information including account balances, transaction records, shipping addresses and other sensitive private details. The vulnerability has supposedly been fixed, but users still worry that the privacy hazard will trigger a new wave of security threats. Taobao officials insist on having eliminated eventual risks and promise to honor alarming users who notifies the company about any future breaches with 50 000 yuan straight from the company’s reward fund.

Source: News 163

China E-Commerce

E-payment business grows rapidly 2013

With 25.78 billion online orders and a turnover of 1.075 trillion yuan, Chinese E-payment business went up 27,40% compared to the previous year, according to data released by People’s Bank of China. E-payment includes three categories of payment services – online payment, mobile payment and phone payment. The turnover of the complete Chinese mobile payment industry rocketed to 9,64 trillion yuan ($1.59 trillion), meaning a growth of 317%.

Source: Tech Node

China E-Commerce

8 Facts about digital advertising in China

• Online shopping is one of China’s highest growth categories. In 2011 it had a growth of 30%, compared to 50% last year. 
• 70% of China’s more than half a billion internet users are first-time users surfing the Web on a mobile device.
• The Chinese digital market will be larger than its TV market this year.
• The money spent on social media ads will grow faster than any other of the digital sub-segments. The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) will be up 67,6% by 2018.
• Mobile social will make up more than 10% of the Chinese digital market 2018.
• The growth of mobile usage leads to larger digital ad revenues. Chinese mobile-based advertising comprises 10% of digital ad revenues and 3.5% of the total ad revenues.  
• After the U.S., China has the largest search advertising market in the world.  Top five advertisers in China 2013 are P&G, China Mobile, Volkswagen, L’Oreal, & 360Buy.
• The most popular online activity is instant messaging (85%)

Source: Clickz

China E-Commerce

Tencent Takes a Stake in Dianping

Recent rumors of Tencent’s possible acquisition or investment in Dianping have become fact. Multiple sources have revealed that Tencent has already acquired a stake in Dianping and will announce the news early this week.  

Rumors are circulating that a 20%-25% stake has been bought by e-commerce giant Tencent - valued at around USD1.8 – 2 billion. 

Dianping is currently in its eleventh year, being founded in April 2003 and is currently the most popular ratings & review service in China. As of Q4 2013, active monthly users were at the level of 90 million, 75% of views coming from mobiles. The platform currently has 8 million merchants and 30 million ratings/reviews – covering 2,300 cities in China and a dozen countries.

Dianping has found its competitors in group-buying and other lifestyle/local sectors. Since group buying has become one of Dianping’s major revenue sources, group-buying services such as Meituan have become direct competitors.

Having had a slower growth rate than some other group-buying services, Dianping has big plans for acceleration this year – the company has now launched a food delivery service and is currently building a hotel booking service.

It is expected that Dianping’s services will be integrated into Tencent’s properties, especially their successful mobile messaging app WeChat.

Source: Tech Node

China E-Commerce

Who is the Chinese Luxury Consumer?

Pinning down the quintessential Chinese luxury consumer is a tough thing to do, as there are a few different types.  It has been estimated that globally, there are 300 million luxury consumers who spent $295 billion USD in 2013.  In terms of size, the Chinese made up the third largest group (14% of the total), after Americans and Europeans.  Spending-wise, however, the Chinese were second in line with $1.7 billion USD, right after the Middle Eastern consumers.  Breaking down the global luxury consumers, we can estimate that about half, or 150 million of them, are true luxury consumers, or people who purchase luxury goods on a consistent basis.  Though they only make up half the group, they account for about 90% of 2013’s total luxury market, and the Chinese make up about 19% of this group ($29 million USD).  Today we’ll be looking at the two groups, omnivores and the opinionated, of Chinese luxury consumers who make up 60% of the group as a whole.  Overall, females are the top spenders (60% of the group) and Chinese luxury consumers will spend mainly overseas and at monobrand stores.  Another factor that contributes to luxury spending is gifting, which is seen as a cultural ritual. 

Omnivores:  Omnivores are known as those new to luxury and are often inhabitants of lower-tiered cities.  They have an insatiable appetite for luxury and are brand name and status conscious.  This group is the one typically portrayed in the media.  Omnivores do most of their shopping abroad and have low sensitivity to advertising and are influenced by social networks.  They are usually in the 30-40 age group (the lowest age group of the consumers). 

The opinionated:  The members of this group are typically found in Beijing and Shanghai, followed by Western Europe and the U.S.  This consumer is typically a highly educated manager in his/her early 40s.  They shop repeatedly throughout the season, usually in his/her hometown or country, during work-days.  They leverage new technologies and tablets.  They are strong luxury connoisseurs with the highest level of brand awareness.  They are very receptive to superior in-store service, and targeted communication is crucial to driving their purchases. 

Source: Red Luxury

China Digital

Baidu Users Comparing Luxury Goods Prices

It’s no secret among China’s luxury consumers that the prices of luxury goods are much higher on the mainland than elsewhere, but they’re getting more cost-savvy—new data from Baidu shows that internet users consider price to be the most important concern when searching for luxury goods online. Baidu’s data centre reports that the term “price” was by far the most common search term associated with luxury bags and watches in 2013. Internet searches are often used to find the original price of luxury goods before China’s notoriously high tariffs are imposed, says the report. Chinese luxury consumers are using price searches to measure whether or not items are worth buying. The high prices have driven Chinese consumers to buy an estimated two-thirds of luxury goods outside the mainland. In addition, they use a variety of other purchase methods to avoid tariffs, such as daigou (buying online from someone who has purchased an item abroad) or having their travelling friends and family buy items for them.

Source: Jing Daily

China E-Commerce

China Consumers Favor Mobile Commerce

Mobile payment services in China saw strong growth in 2013. A new report from iResearch, an online tracking and data analysis firm, shows that independent mobile commerce platforms have found a great deal of support from Chinese consumers. People throughout the country are turning to these platforms in order to shop online and pay for products with their mobile device rather than with physical currency. As device ownership continues to grow, mobile commerce is expected to become much more prevalent throughout the country. Chinese consumers favour mobile commerce services because of their convenience and the fact that they allow people to manage their finances from their mobile devices rather than being forced to do so at home from their computers. The iResearch report also suggests that mobile shopping is no longer the main attractor of most mobile commerce platforms. According to the report, online money transfers and banking features are quickly becoming the main reason people use these platforms. As these services see more attention from consumers, their use of NFC technology is beginning to diminish. China has established itself as a very active and attractive mobile market. Not only are mobile payments flourishing throughout the country, but mobile games are also generating a great deal of profit and economic activity. Advertisers in China are also beginning to focus on mobile consumers more aggressively, launching interactive mobile marketing campaigns that are designed to be more dynamic than traditional marketing initiatives.

Source: Mobile Commerce Press

China Digital

LinkedIn Targets Growth in China

The one major U.S. social network not blocked in China is starting to expand its presence in the world's most populous nation. LinkedIn, unlike Facebook, Twitter and Google, is not banned by state censors, but only recently appointed its first president for China, George Shen. Shortly thereafter, LinkedIn started to integrate its accounts with users' profiles on the Chinese chat app WeChat, which has around 300 million monthly users. Internet analysts and recruiters say that LinkedIn has a better chance of catching on in China than many other US tech groups. Other groups, if they were unblocked, would need to compete directly with China's established tech giants. Tencent, whose HK$991.6 billion (US$127.7 billion) market cap is less than $5 billion behind Facebook's, runs WeChat, which is increasingly popular as a social network and marketing platform. Sina dominates blogging with its Twitter-like Weibo microblog, which is partially backed by ecommerce giant Alibaba. Baidu and Youku Tudou, meanwhile, lead in search and online video. The online job hunting market, however, is fragmented between local groups such as Zhaopin and 51job, and a very high turnover rate among employees means high demand for recruiting services. Despite not offering a complete Chinese version of its desktop site, LinkedIn says it has more than 4 million users in China. Globally, it has 260 million members, 54 million of whom are in Asia.

Source: CNBC

China E-Commerce

Foxconn to launch B2B e-trading platform

Hon Hai Precision Industry — the world's largest contract electronics maker, also known as Foxconn — will launch a business to business (B2B) trading platform in early March, a move perceived as a way for the company to broaden its business model. As the first step for the new initiative, the company will develop a B2B e-trading business by launching a platform called B2BFoxconn.com, which will become a venue for selling semi-finished electronics products in the initial stage. Hon Hai has ambitions to transform itself into a commerce-oriented company from a manufacturing heavyweight by selling its products by itself, and that the B2B platform is expected to help the manufacturer reach this goal. Hon Hai will develop its commerce operations in a bid to provide value-added services to its clients.To facilitate the e-commerce development, the new business will be supervised directly by Hon Hai's headquarters, while the company will coordinate its subsidiaries in a bid to develop their e-commerce platforms.

Source: Want China Times

China Digital

WeChat Banking Emerges in China

Several Chinese banks have now launched banking services via popular mobile phone app WeChat, as they try to tap into the rapidly changing online business world. Launched as an instant messaging smartphone app, Tencent's WeChat began attracting banks, which have established accounts dedicated to businesses and groups, after introducing payment features. Two of the services commonly offered through these banks' WeChat accounts, are a search for branch locations and the ability to make appointments to avoid queues at the bank. China Everbright Bank's WeChat service can even recognise a user's location and send locations of nearby branches to the user's phone. WeChat also provides an alternative to the banks' service hotlines, with some of the banks hiring staff to man the service. Besides checking their account balance, China Merchant Bank, China Everbright Bank and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank allow their clients who have signed an additional contract to buy financial products through their WeChat accounts. For people who are not familiar with using apps or even smartphones, these WeChat banking services are just a novelty among the youth but as the e-commerce and online banking sectors continue to grow it is likely the adoption of these digital services will spread.

Source: Want China Times

China Digital

China’s Mobile Payments 707% Growth in 2013

The total transaction volume by Chinese independent mobile payments services reached 1219.74 billion yuan (roughly $200bn) in 2013, a 707% year on year increase, according to the latest report by online tracking and data analysis service iResearch. The independent payments that iResearch refers to are all payments services excluding those by conventional banks and China UnionPay, the bankcard association. And ‘payments’ include peer-to-peer money transfers. The major driver of the growth, however, isn’t mobile shopping anymore but online money transfer, credit card payoff and other mobile payment applications. Payments as a percentage through text messages decreased steeply in the past three years, from 92.5% in 2010 to 6.1% in 2013. 93.1% payments were through mobile payments apps or other services in this year. The share of near field payments declined from 2.6% one year ago to 0.8% — NFC, the only mainstream near field technology, isn’t widely adopted in China. But it is expected that other near field payment solutions like Alipay On-site, with QRcode and acoustic payment capability, will drive near field payments in 2014.

Source: Tech Node

China E-Commerce

Alibaba Backs China Potential For Vintage Luxury E-commerce

Now that Chinese e-tail giant Alibaba dominates China’s e-commerce mass market with behemoths Taobao and Tmall, it’s moving into something slightly more niche: vintage luxury. According to tech site Recode, the internet giant approached 1stdibs, a U.S.-based site which sells vintage luxury items through a network of retailers, to offer Series C funding. The luxury e-tailer was founded in 2001 with the goal of bringing the Paris flea market to the internet, which is certainly a high-end one—the average purchase price is $2,000, according to 1stdibs. The website offers a plethora of vintage fashion, jewelry, watches, furniture, and even fine art. Although based in the United States, Chinese buyers are part of the website’s significant contingent of international customers, which make up one third of its total buyers. Alibaba has proposed to help 1stdibs’ efforts in Asia, where the company is eyeing a growing number of individual Chinese buyers. As China’s wealthy luxury shoppers become more focused on individualism, the concept of high-end vintage is slowly cropping up with the opening of new vintage boutiques and promotion of vintage car culture. Alibaba clearly sees potential for luxury vintage in China, stating that 1stdibs has “a great vision and strong sense of mission for their company.”

Source: Jing Daily

China Digital

The Online Shopping Landscape in China Drives New Challenges For Companies

It is not a secret to anyone that Chinese consumers are searching to buy quality goods at higher prices and use social media to gather product information. According to a new report by The American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai (AmCham Shanghai), in Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities, an increasing number of consumers are relying on consistency and integrity in their purchasing choices, a large change from a previously price driven market. This change signals greatly required alterations by both Chinese and International consumer brands with regard to the marketing channels they use and most importantly the content they drive in China. As a result of this the report details that with the increased usage of e-commerce and social media, the second most significant trend detailed in the report stated that both multinational and Chinese companies recognize the importance of developing digital marketing and sales channels. However, most companies declared that they are yet to be adequately prepared to convert growing online interactions to a sales advantage. The report, however, noted that leaders in this area demonstrate the benefits of strategic use of data derived from online viewing and purchasing habits and from this have displayed desirable results through alignment of digital activities with their corporate strategies and across organizational functions. For many large companies in their current situation this gives them the opportunity to build products and brands that can deliver great value. Experts are confident that this trend will increase brand loyalty among consumers focused on value which means that they will pay higher prices for quality products and services. Still to get to the sales conversion point consumer companies face large challenges in online retailing in this dynamic market.

Source: Retail In Asia

China Digital

Baidu Acquires Nuomi

Baidu has struck up an agreement with Renren to buy, in its entirety, the e-commerce site Nuomi. China’s number 1 search engine will become the platform’s exclusive investor and only shareholder. Baidu has made this move because it feels good about China’s massive local service industry market.

Source: Want China Times

China Digital

China is Spending More and More Online

With the people of Guangdong province leading the way, China’s online spending keeps on increasing. The latest data from Alipay tells us that the nation’s per capita online transactions, which incloude shopping, money transfers, and bill payments, came out to over 10,000 RMB (US $1,642) last year. Spending in Guangdong accounted for 16% of 2012’s online spending. As a whole, the spending of tier-1 cities is the greatest, but Alipay has also noted that smaller cities were not to be ignored. For example, shoppers in Yiwu (Zhejiang province), spent an average of 40,000 RMB ($6,569USD) last year, which is more than twice the amount of the average in Beijing. Alipay’s list of top 100 small cities and counties, 36 belonged to Zhejiang province, 27 from Jiangsu, and 13 from Fujian. Shoppers who spent over 1 million yuan ($164,219 USD) were from Yiwu and Cangnan counties, in Zhejiang province, and Changshu, located in Jiangsu province. Analysts have said that although those in lower-tier cities may have lower income than those in higher-tier ones, due to lower living costs, they may actually have as much or even more disposable income to spend online.

Source:ZD Net

China Digital

Tencent’s Micro Cloud

Tencent has released news of its upcoming 2.0 version of its Micro Cloud storage service. The new version will give the user several new features that convert the experience from an integration service to a storage one. This new version is expected to be available on January 15th. The cloud service now has 300 million users, a milestone reached just seven months after it hit the 100 million user mark in May of 2013. Users can now save websites, files, and notes and will be able to sync everything across multiple devices. The service will also be implementing integration into other Tencent products, such as QQ Offline Transmission, QQ Mail, QQ Album, and more. Tencent also wants to have the cloud service pre-installed into devices like smart phones and wearable ones.

Source:Tech Node

China Digital

Tencent’s Micro Cloud

The Chinese government is now issuing mobile virtual network operator licenses, and Alibaba’s subsidiary company, HiChina, and also JD.com have obtained them. What does having these licenses mean? The companies can now lease mobile services from the three state-run carriers but can offer their own packages with data and discounts. As of right now, 11 firms have received these licenses. JD.com hopes to become the country’s fourth-largest mobile carrier within the next half decade. This move will likely result in more mobile shoppers for the companies’ e-commerce platforms.

Source:The Next Web

China Digital

Alibaba and Mobile Gaming

Mobile gaming, an industry worth 11.2 billion RMB in 2013, has become huge in China, and Alibaba wants a piece. This coming Wednesday, the Internet super company will be making its first foray into the world of mobile games. Historically, Alibaba has largely been a PC-oriented company, but has been making big efforts to make its name in the mobile sector as well. Along with Laiwang, its mobile messaging app, and Alipay wallet, its mobile e-payment app, Alibaba will be covering all bases after releasing mobile games. For those who are curious, Alibaba will be implementing a 7:2:1 revenue sharing model – with 70% going to developers, 20% going to Alibaba, and 10% going to charity.

Source:Alizila

China Digital

China Social Sharing Apps Used In Travel

Sina Weibo and Wechat ranked first and second in social sharing networks for travel, with 81.7% and 72.9% respectively. Of those that used social media while traveling, 85.1% shared photos of their travels, 68.1% shared statuses of how they were feeling and 46.8% shared information about their travel location. While traveling the most used mobile app map was the Baidu map with 39.6%, followed by Autonavi with 18.8%. 47.7% of Chinese consumers chose their mobile map app based on the fact it was straightforward to operate and user-friendly. 31.8% choose the map app due to the fact the app could offer all-round daily life service.

Source:China Internet Watch

China Digital

Microblogging + Alipay

Sina and Alibaba have teamed up to open joint microblogging Alipay accounts. Previously, customers had to log into their Alipay accounts separately after making a purchase on Weibo, but that hassle is no longer necessary. After transactions have been made, customers can communicate with sellers and share their purchases on their microblogs.

Source:IT Feed

China Digital

Shanghai Launched Cross- Border B2C E-Commerce Platform in FTZ

Shanghai Free Trade Zone officially launched cross border e-commerce platform kuajingtong.com on December 28, 2013. It is the first e-commerce enterprise granted by Chinese government. Kuajingtong aims at becoming the official and standard cross-border e-commerce platform in China. The site is supported by Shanghai customs, and has the advantages of product authentication guarantee, competitive pricing, transparent taxes, convenient logistics and customer service. Kuajingtong overseas products only require 50% custom duty, while normally other enterprises have to pay 150%. The company has contacted about 20 international B2C enterprises’ and plans to become the portal site of china cross border e-commerce.

Source:China Internet Watch

China Digital

E-Commerce Goes Rural

The Internet – once known to be accessible only to a certain part of the population – is now expanding into the far reaches of China, where users are typically illiterate farmers who have never even touched a computer, let alone used one to purchase anything and everything. In Suichang County, the local government has created a project called 51ganjie, which has established web-connected service stations in 5 remote farming villages. This project is meant to help villagers buy things via the Internet, such as their daily necessities, electronics, clothing, and farming supplies. There are even plans to expand services and allow farmers to sell their produce online. Delivering to such remote regions was not economically viable before, but with integrated logistics and order consolidation, it has been made possible. Another plus is that these farmers can raise their overall standard of living from the extra income they will receive by selling the fruits of their labor online.

Source: BRW

China Digital

Amazon Launches Their Cloud Services In China

Amazon announced on December the 18th the launch of its cloud service in China. The company signed a memorandum of understanding with government authorities in order to bring its service into the country. Amazon Web Services is (AWS) is a strong company having estimated sales of over US $700 million in the fourth quarter of last year. The announcement of their arrival in China has caused Alibaba, Chinas market leader in e-commerce, to make price cuts for all its public cloud services and also set in place favorable plans for long-term clients. Microsoft is currently the only foreign provider of public cloud services in China, as restrictions to foreign companies entering are tough. Amazon is likely to face tough competition from Aliyun, which provides products more tailored to the Chinese market. The vice president of ChinaNetCenter welcomed the competition as a positive development, saying it would make Chinese service providers more competitive.

Source: Want China Times

China E-Commerce

Alibaba’s Investment Fund One Of China’s Largest

The investment fund backed by e-commerce giant Alibaba has become the country’s largest. The fund - Tianhong Zenglibau - is linked to the third-party payment service Alipay, and reached 185.3 billion Yuan at end of 2013. To put the fund’s growth into perspective, the fund totaled less than 10 billion Yuan at some stage throughout 2013. Alipay users have the ability to transfer funds from their Alipay account into a Yuebao account where the money is subsequently invested into the currency fund to earn interest. The fund currently has returns of 6.7%, but forecasts suggest that the fund is over performing and long-term returns of 4.5% are to be expected./p>

Source: Want China Times

China E-Commerce

The 5 Defining Characteristics of the O2O Mobile Era

Wu Xiaoguang, the CEO of Tencent, has expounded on the five attributes of O2O in an increasingly mobile world. He emphasizes how e-commerce and traditional retailing will become symbiotic. The five characteristics are as follows:

1. Consumers are constantly connected to e-commerce stores, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The shopping experience is no longer confined to just the physical store. The customer can leave the store and still be connected and in communication with a store’s correspondent.
2. With consumers using mobile devices for so many aspects of everyday life, retailers will find it easier to carry out CRM practices via mobile services.
3. Customers can more easily find information on the stores that are nearest to them, with the help of their mobile devices. Not only that, but stores can use mobile data to provide personalized shopping experiences.
4. Furthermore, this data can help businesses carry out research and brand analysis.
5. Finally, a customer will no longer just be a nameless, faceless being. Businesses will be able to get to know their customers long after they leave their stores.

Source: IT Feed

China E-Commerce

Taobao ‘Hazy’ Keywords

Taoboa recently published the top searched keywords on its e-commerce platform for 2013. Several search trends are quite interesting and could be helpful to marketers trying to understand Chinese consumer habits. 2013 has witnessed a major purchase increase in hazy weather related products. The number of people who purchased dust mask on Taobao increased 181% from 2012. Additionally, air purifiers increased 131% from the previous year. The cities that led the way with these purchases were Jiangsu, Beijing and Zhejiang with Jiangsu spending 347,513 Yuan. In total, Chinese consumers spent 870 million Yuan (USD 142.4 million).

Source: China Internet Watch

China Digital

Alibaba’s International Platforms to Merge into a Single Marketplace

AliExpress, Tmall International, and the international segment of Taobao will be brought together as one in order to more easily target overseas consumers. As some may not have known, Alibaba actually started as an international business-to-business trading company, but exploded into something completely different domestically. AliExpress, once a part of Alibaba’s B2B, became an e-tail platform earlier this year, as more and more buyers from outside of China turned out to be individual consumers, rather than businesses. Considering how massive Alibaba and its platforms have become, a step toward international expansion is only natural.

Source:Sina

China Digital

JD.com and Free International Delivery

JD.com’s international website, JD.com Global, has begun providing free international delivery on orders over $49. This move represents a new light for international lovers of Chinese cultural products, such as books. With 200,000 international users, JD.com can now order with somewhat reckless abandon from the world’s largest Chinese language book collection, which contains over 800,000 titles. Most parcels to U.S. addresses should arrive within seven to twelve days upon ordering.

Source:ECNS

China Digital

Jingdong Sets Up O2O For Convenience Stores

Next year, Jingdong (jd.com) is said to operate online to offline (O2O) operations with businesses in 20 cities throughout China. Jingdong has recently been working with convenience stores, with the aim of achieving delivery of orders within 10 minutes from the time the customer placed the order online. Jingdong is the main platform for online to offline convenience stores. The company is also looking at setting up a convenience store membership system, to make the customers experience more efficient, useable and profitable. There has been a trial period on the Jingdong site for convenience stores using O2O, and customers have been spending on average 100rmb a day.

Source:EBrun B2C

China Digital

Tencent’s Own WeChat Just Might be the Death of Tencent’s Other Messaging App, QQ

Tencent’s enormously popular mobile messaging app, WeChat, meant a new, positive path for the Internet company, but such strategic moves do not come without sacrifices. QQ, the company’s PC-based messaging app, was quite widely used, but could not possibly stand up to the rise of WeChat, especially with the decline in PC use and the Chinese penchant for mobile devices. The gradual phasing out of QQ wasn’t determined by the market, but by Tencent’s future course of action. While it may seem as though WeChat has everything going for it, there is precisely one significant hurdle it hasn’t been to jump – the app lacks the ability to be Tencent’s cash cow, as QQ was previously. For the time being, however, Tencent is okay with that, as the company is certain of WeChat’s significance in the future mobile market. WeChat had fierce competition when it entered the market, so Tencent had to focus not on making revenue, but gaining a large user base. The popular Internet company can’t keep going on like this forever, though, as a lack of revenue will surely catch up with it.

Source:China Internet Watch

China Digital

Alipay Vending Machines on University Campuses Now Being Made “Sonic”

One hundred and fifty of the universities across the country have Alipay vending machines available to their students. These machines, however, are now being equipped with microphones, allowing for a “personal payment” feature. Previously, this feature was only available in subway stations, taxi queues, and shopping payment areas at which customers can use Alipay to pay for their products.

Source:IT Feed

China Digital

China Search Engine Market Share – November 2013 Results

Baidu, Chinas largest search engine, is loosing market share as its competitors become stronger. While their volume still ranked first at 63.55%, it has decreased monthly by 0.31%. 360, another top SEM in China, ranked second, increasing its search engine market share volume from 1% to 21.84%. Sogou and Google were ranked third and fourth. Except for Baidu, 360, and Sogou, other search engines such as Google and Microsoft Bing, all dropped below 3%. During November only 360, Sogou, and Youdao had a growth in market share. Soso had the biggest drop in volume share, decreasing by 1.4% and Sogou grew by 0.74% monthly. This is potentially attributed to the recent integration of the two companies.

Source:China Internet Watch

China Digital

Taxi Market

Alibaba Group and Tencent Holdings are in direct competition for China’s taxi hailing app market. These two Internet giants own and operate the Kuaide and Didi apps respectively, and are fighting for market share party due to the unprecedented success of Uber. Kuaide was ranked the top app in the third quarter and after its absorption of competitor Dahuangfeng, its national market share exceeds 50%. Kuaide covers nearly 40 cities across China, whilst Didi services approximately 15. Reports suggest that whichever company wins the battle, will ultimately lead in the future operation of O2O (online to offline).

Source:Want China Times

China E-Commerce

Tencent’s Fengling Unveiled

Fengling has been released. Tencent created this WeChat-based mobile web design tool to specifically target mobile marketing and promotion. It helps users make HTML 5-based websites and also lets them integration interaction, communication, and LBS and KPI monitoring functions. Users can choose from two different types of websites to create: General sites, which can be made using a drag-and-drop method, and industrial sites, which is a more customized option, only available to members.

Source: QQ Blog

China E-Commerce

11.11 Helps Winemaker Jiuxian Break Record Sales Of 220 Million Yuan

It seems the holiday not only helps sales in clothing, beauty products and consumer electronics sectors, but now liquor companies are also benefitting. Jiuxian, a winemaker in China, announced that after 24hrs the company broke a record of 220 million yuan in sales. The numbers are surprising for the winemaker because last year’s total sales for the day were 61.5 million yuan. After one hour since the sales frenzy started Jiuxian passed 40 million yuan. Double eleven only began almost 5 years ago but it seems to be proving that many industries including the wine industry can benefit from this online trend.

Source: Ebrun

China E-Commerce

Suning's Own China E-Commerce Payment Service

Electrical goods supplying company Suning has just bought the domain yifubao.com, to release their own payment system. The payment system will probably be similar to Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba's Alipay, or Tencent's Tenpay.

Source: Tech.QQ

China Digital

A Big Start For Alibaba

China’s annual shopping bonanza 11.11 has started with a bang. The country’s top e-commerce company Alibaba is watching its sales in real time, keeping the world updated with regular sales figures. Tmall, Alibaba’s open marketplace saw $177 million spent in the first six minutes, jumping to $266 million (RMB 1.64 billion) after 10 minutes, nearly $500 million (RMB 3.021 billion) after 20 minutes and $1 billion after the first 50 minutes. The hour before midnight saw six million Alibaba customers placing online items in their virtual shopping baskets, eagerly awaiting the start of 11.11 when the discounts became active.

Source: Tech In Asia

China Digital

Alibaba and Double Eleven

Sales from Double Eleven promotions on Alibaba platforms are expected to rise 50% from last year’s sales to at least 30 billion yuan. In fact, shopping in general has shifted heavily from physical retail stores to online purchases. The day, which was originally to celebrate one’s single status or to seek out a potential partner, has become the biggest one for online shopping in China -- all thanks to Alibaba’s Tmall. The platform started marketing promotions for Singles’ Day back in 2009, and nearly all other retailers have since then followed suit. At the moment, Alibaba’s e-commerce platforms, Tmall and Taobao, absolutely dominate China’s e-tailing market. Orders for the two platforms accounted for 70% of package deliveries last year in China. It has also been reported that retailers will even operate at a profit loss, simply in order to gain market share, and as such, price wars have become merciless and brutal. Alibaba is also safe from potential Singles’ Day losses, as it doesn’t sell merchandise itself. The company comes out much farther in ahead in the competition for the largest profit margins, with a margin of 48.4%, as compared to Ebay’s 18.1% and Amazon’s 0.51%. In addition to all of the price-slashing madness, Double Eleven can also be a logistical nightmare for sellers, as order volumes can become overwhelmingly high -- which can potentially lead to many disappointing delays. Shentong Express Co., a courier firm based in Shanghai, has preemptively hired 45,000 temporary workers in addition to its established workforce of 150,000, to handle the upcoming busy season.

Source: Bloomberg

China Digital

What Online Christmas Shoppers Want

During the Christmas holidays, a staggering 85% of customers base their final purchasing decisions on final cost, as well as promotional deals. With price comparisons being so easy to do, this aspect is one part of the holiday shopping experience that simply cannot be ignored. If you’re selling items on marketplace platforms like eBay and Amazon, it is absolutely crucial for your store to maintain competitive prices at all times. To make life a little easier, there are automated repricers that adjust prices according to the competitive landscape and other parameters that you set. Another expectation of holiday shoppers is free shipping. In fact, 61% of consumers say they would cancel their Christmas shopping orders if delivery fees were involved. While at first, it may seem financially unwise to offer free shipping, remember to keep in mind that there are several ways to do so while also making a profit, such as creating minimum order amounts, offering flat rate shipping, or tiered shipping options. Remember to also be as transparent as possible when it comes to different policies, shipping timelines, and deadlines. Customers don’t want to waste time reading any fine print and they don’t want any negative surprises, especially during the holiday season. Finally, a great store reputation is absolutely imperative in maximizing sales and profits. Make sure you are doing everything in your power to avoid poor reviews and ratings for your store.

Source: Retail In Asia

China Digital

Baidu Reports that 46.6% of Chinese Users Would Purchase Smartwatches

According to a recent report by Baidu, 93% of those surveyed are familiar with the concept of the smart watch. If price were no object, about 50% of those surveyed would consider purchasing smart bracelets and watches, while about 20% would definitely purchase one. The most appealing aspect of the devices seem to be their ability to help wearers keep fit and to overcome laziness by implementing sports plans.

Source: Tech Node

China Digital

Qihoo Wants A Quarter of Search Engine Market Share by the Year’s End

As of October of this year, Qihoo has officially reached their annual goal of taking over 20% of the search engine market. Qihoo’s biggest rival, Baidu, has lost some of its market share, going from 72% at the beginning of the year to 62% currently. Qihoo also only makes about a third of the revenue per user that Baidu does, as it has chosen not to display certain types of ads on its site.

Source: Tech Node

China Digital

Online shopping transactions up 42% on previous year

Latest IDG research reveals that in the third quarter of 2013, China’s online shopping market is up 4.0% on the previous quarter and 42.4% on the previous year. These market transactions were valued at 454.76 billion yuan, among which B2C transactions accounted for 36.6%. Within the B2C market, the top 10 B2C players dominated 89.7%, Alibaba’s Tmall representing 51.1%, Jingdong ranking 2nd with 17.5% and TenCent (including QQ online shopping) accounting for 6%.

Source: QQ Blog

China Digital

Taobao.com selling fund products

Alibaba’s online shopping platform Taobao has expanded their services into the financial sector. The 1st of November 2013 saw the e-commerce giant launch a third-party platform selling fund products, only a day after the company received the go-ahead from the China Securities Regulatory Commission. Investors will be able to buy mainly low-risk money market and bond funds for as little as 100 yuan (US$16.40) with no redemption fees or charged subscription. The sale of these funds marks Alibaba’s latest venture into China’s tightly controlled capital market, six months after the introduction of their Yu’E Bao money market fund available through their online payment service provider Alipay.

Source: Shanghai Daily

China Digital

Tencent is One of Snapchat’s Potential Investors

Evan Spiegel, the founder of popular photo messaging app Snapchat, has stated in the past that he sees China’s Tencent as a role model. In June, during the last funding round for his startup company, Snapchat raised $80 million at an $800 million valuation. Now the company wants to raise $200 million at a $3-4 billion valuation. If Tencent, with a valuation of $100 billion, were to invest in Snapchat, the partnership between the two companies would be a powerful one. Tencent could help Snapchat make a name for itself in Asia and also figure out potential business models. Spiegel wants the app to start bringing in revenue before the next round of funding, and has said that he admires WeChat’s (Tencent’s popular messaging app) ability to earn money from in-app purchases.

Source: Tech Crunch

China Digital

11.11 Helps Wine Maker Jiuxian Break Record Sales Of 220 Million Yuan

It seems the holiday not only helps sales in clothing, beauty products and consumer electronics sectors, but now liquor companies are also benefitting. Jiuxian, a winemaker in China, announced that after 24hrs the company broke a record of 220 million yuan in sales. The numbers are surprising for the winemaker because last year’s total sales for the day were 61.5 million yuan. After one hour since the sales frenzy started Jiuxian passed 40 million yuan. Double eleven only began almost 5 years ago but it seems to be proving that many industries including the wine industry can benefit from this online trend.

Source: Ebrun

China Digital

Alibaba Establishes San Francisco Office

Alibaba has opened a new office in San Francisco in order to invest in US companies. The Chinese e-commerce behemoth will be looking for companies in “internet commerce and emerging technologies.” The San Francisco team will be led by the newly-appointed Chairman of US Investments, Michael Zeisser. The US team has actually already gone through with a few investments in US companies, including ShopRunner and Quixey.

Source: Tech In Asia

China Digital

Baidu Looks to Acquire Dianping for $2 Billion

Baidu has reportedly been in talks to acquire Chinese restaurant review site Dianping. Such an acquisition for Baidu would mean adding Dianping’s listings to Baidu’s own review app and access to Dianping’s daily deals and group buying services. The addition to Baidu’s already dominating search and maps services would make Baidu even more of an Internet powerhouse.

Source: Tech In Asia

China Digital

Customer Data Theft

We’ve all heard the phrase “knowledge is power,” but apparently, here in China, knowledge can also equal big money for those who are daring enough to take the risk to sell the knowledge they’ve obtained using methods that aren’t exactly legal. The selling of personal customer information from employees of delivery companies to online traders has become its own industry in major Chinese cities. And what can one do with such information? Well, it can be used for a variety of activities ranging from fairly harmless, such as distributing junk e-mail and contacting potential customers, to downright unscrupulous, like scams, extortion, and theft. Many online store owners also seem to be using the information to forge transaction records. YTO Express, one of the biggest next-day delivery firms in China, and the company that most of the stolen data seem to be coming from, has been dealing with the aforementioned issue for quite some time now. Since last year, the courier company has been working with Taobao, China’s biggest C2C e-commerce company, to solve the problem. It seems, however, that their efforts have been of little to no avail. There are currently 3,000 personal data sellers on Taobao, and the going rate for a single piece of information is 1 yuan (approximately 0.16 USD), with discounts typically given for bulk purchases of one thousand. The information includes the customers names, addresses, phone numbers, and serial numbers. There have been two large recent cases involving data selling, which involved 18 people and 6 million pieces of information. The jail sentence for such a crime is a maximum of 3 years, but charges for the crime rarely occur due to the difficulty of tracking sales. Security measures are currently being taken by another Chinese courier firm, STO Express, which will give its customer dockets every six months to independent security firms to destroy.

Source: Shanghai Daily

China Digital

Alibaba’s Plan to Take Over Wireless

Alibaba is doing all it can to further develop its wireless sector. The company’s messaging tool, Laiwang, which is similar to WeChat, is expected to reach 30% market share. The way in which Laiwang differentiates itself from other similar competitors is that the app is targeted purely toward interaction amongst friends. It does so through features such as “burn after reading” and the right to form groups with up to 500 members. Alibaba has launched large-scale promotion activities for the mobile app, both internally and externally. The company is also working on Mobile Taobao, Ali OS, and an upcoming O2O service.

Source: Tech Node

China Digital

The Struggles of Internet TV in China

Internet TV in China is currently facing three bottlenecks: High bandwidth costs, similar content, and lack of core competitiveness. HD broadcasting is the standard for internet TV, and thus, will mostly likely continue to boost bandwidth costs for the next few years. The range of content across different platforms is too similar. Online video streaming needs solid content to bring in customers. Furthermore, content becomes “dated” because streaming regulations do not allow movies to be streamed until after they have been released in theaters. Competition-wise, Internet TV pales in comparison to tradition TV. Companies will really need to use innovation and creative thinking to separate themselves from the pack.

Source: Want China Times

China Digital

Qihoo’s Apps Removed by Chinese Android App Stores

Xaomi is removing all Qihoo mobile apps from its proprietary Android app store in retaliation to a push notification sent by Qihoo to its users telling them to delete the Xiamo app stores from their phones. This sort of instance isn’t the first of its kind to happen Qihoo, either. Baidu has said that Qihoo has once done the same thing to its Baidu Maps app. How did Qihoo respond to such claims? The company stated that it was simply a reminder to remove pre-installed third party apps because many are rarely launched by users. According to Qihoo, it is up to the users to decide, especially when the aforementioned third-party apps usually contain spam and/or breach privacy. Pre-installation, however, has been a significant channel to reach users, and companies who have been affected by Qihoo’s notifications are angry with the Internet company due to Qihoo’s bad record in app distribution and its push content.

Source: Tech Node

China Digital

Kanbox: Alibaba’s New Acquired Private Cloud Computing Service

Alibaba’s recent move of acquiring Kanbox (a provate cloud computing service) will provide more convenient access to data for users of Alibaba. Kanbox was originally founded in June of 2010 and grew to a 100-employee company. Kanbox states that their user base is around 13 million and out of that 2 million also use Kanbox service on mobile devices. Kanbox has received two major investments from angle investor Charles Xue (founder of UTStarcom) and a group led by DCM. It seems that Alibaba’s acquisition of Kanbox will help to increase user loyalty and its service competitiveness. More importantly with Kanbox, Alibaba can no begin personalizing its cloud computing services. Cloud computing will be an important aspect to Alibaba’s vast and growing e-commerce Empire.

Source: Want China Times

China Digital

China Unicom Releases Mobile Wallet App

China Unicom has unveiled its mobile payment service. The app can be obtained in several ways; customers can download the app directly to their smart phones, can get SIM cards pre-installed with the service, or can pop into China Unicom stores to get the app installed into their SIMs. Within the app, bank account information and transportation cards can be bundled, and in the future, the app will have fuel cards, membership cards, and e-coupons. China Unicom is currently testing the service in Beijing, Guangdong, Fujian, and Jiangsu.

Source: Tech Node

China Digital

Sina Weibo Making Moves For IPO

The recent rumor about Sina Weibo going IPO is apparently true, Jack Xu the CTO of Sina recently confirms this rumor according to local newspaper Nandu. It was around last week that journalists with Sohu IT started to spread the news about Sina getting ready for an IPO in 2014. Jack Xu informed reporters that he was happy that Twitter had filled an IPO before them, reason being that it would have been difficult to get investors on board if there was no existing business model for this particular type of service. Twitter’s IPO in a sense gives Weibo confidence to go public. Currently Sina Weibo is four years old along with 500 registerd accounts. They generate revenue from advertising, online gaming and other user-facing paid services. Alibaba’s recent collaboration with Weibo would guarantee Weibo a total of $380 million in the next three years. Jack Xu’s background at Cisco should continue to bring Sina stronger technological capabilities thus resulting in a more innovative company

Source: Tech Node

China Digital

WeChat Users Now Able to Order and Pay for Dishes

Tencent’s lifestyle e-commerce service, Micro-Life, has updated its WeChat account to a new version called X1. This version further facilitates mobile CRM by supporting customized offerings, payments, and services. It also makes ordering and paying at restaurants fully within WeChat possible. McDonald’s was actually one of the first restaurants able to issue e-coupons and accept payments for food purchases. Micro-Life also plans to support KTV reservations and is endeavoring towards getting department stores onto WeChat.

Source: Tech Node

China Digital

Alibaba’s Late Entry Into the Social Messaging Ring

Alibaba has recently implemented their 14 month project of Laiwang( social messaging app). It seems as though when it comes to social messaging WeChat claims all the marbles, Alibaba’s attempt to battle Tencent’s monetizing precious will be difficult. Alibaba CEO Johnathan Lu stated that “This product will help connect different aspects of people’s social life, lifestyle and consumer habits [and will] create new wireless application scenarios.” Laiwang is virtually the same as WeChat in terms of functionality, However, Laiwang has a browser-based option, and lets users share things with all buddies in a Path-like social network that complements the messaging experience. If you are a prospective China Telecom user, you will be seeing the preinstalled Laiwang on your new smartphone. This might help boost the amount of users; however the key lies in Alibaba’s capability of incorporating Alibaba’s popular e-shopping sites, Tmall and Taobao, either for e-store merchants or for regular users to engage in mobile commerce. Of course this would have been better if the app was released earlier. Indeed WeChat has gained another challenger, but fortunately this one arrived late to the fight.

Source: Tech In Asia

China Digital

Sina Jumps On The Top Box Bandwagon

Sina recently announced two partnerships, one with home electronics manufacturer Hisense and the other with government-backed Coship. These collaborations contribute to enhance their users experience online experience. In the past weeks, we have seen other players such as Baidu, Tencent, Xiaomi and Alibaba announcing their intentions on also creating a set-top box, Sina’s move in this direction is thus not surprising. Sina’s top box like others will have its own smart TV OS built on Android. The name of this box will be called Feikan and is manufactured by their other partner Coship. There have been rumors spreading about Sina working with manufacturer Hisense to make “Weibo account controlled home appliances.”Sina announced that they will collaborate with Ayla Networks to create a wifi-weather station. It will be interesting to see how many Smart products will be integrated in home appliances. The trend is set now let’s see who comes out on top.

Source: Tech In Asia

China Digital

Vending Machines for WeChat Users

WeChat and Ubox have been experimenting with their own vending machines, allowing customer to pay completely within the chat app in order to quench their thirsts. Approximately 300 of the vending machines have popped up in subway stations all over Beijing. Consumers who pay using WeChat get discounts on their drinks – getting them for RMB 1, when they usually cost around RMB 3-5. Even with WeChat’s high volume of users, however, it will probably prove difficult to get people to make mobile payments.

Source: Tech In Asia

China Digital

The Chinese Government Now has a WeChat Account

China’s cabinet, also known as the State Council, has begun releasing official government information on its public WeChat account. The account, which is named Gazette office of the State Council, is aimed at publicizing administrative laws, orders of the state council, personnel appointments and removal, and important government rules and documents. The account released its first notice on Tuesday, announcing changes of personnel in the state forestry fire prevention office. On Wednesday, a circular was released on urban planning approval of an eastern city. WeChat has become a major way for officials and government to release information and display transparency. Followers of the account can view, download, and share information and documents, but cannot comment like they can on Weibo.

Source: Want China Times

China Digital

Jet Li and Alipay Team Up to Form One Foundation

Jet Li and Alipay have founded One Foundation, a foundation to which donors can make charitable contributions via smart phones and tablets.  Members join a monthly program that is embedded into the Alipay Wallet app, which is a mobile app designed to transfer funds electronically through the Internet.  The default amount for donations is 30 yuan per month.  Contributors will be able to find out how their donations are being used through their mobile phones.

Source: Want China Times

China Digital

Here Comes 12 Digits: Good Move Tencent

It has been revealed that Tencent has hit a new landmark, the total value of the company has entered into the realm of 12 digits, a whopping $101.05 billion, and this means that they are now playing in the mega leagues with Facebook which is currently valued at $103.53 billion. So how did this happen? Well on Monday Tencent revealed their purchase of a 36.5% share of search engine Sogou. This deal should benefit both parties by increasing their search engine traffic. Although The Hong Kong Stock Exchange valued the company at $101.05 billion dollars on Monday, it has been reported that on Tuesday that Tencent went back below the $100 billion mark. Tencents Collaboration with Sogou could mean bad news for other search engines and their company value. It has been reported that Qihoo shares have fell 5.61 percent overnight on the NASDAQ.

Source: Tech In Asia

China Digital

Baidu’s Slipping In Market Control, While Qihoo, Soso and Sogou Make Their Climb Up

Reports confirm that Baidu, who ranks number one in China’s search engine space, is dropping its market share while other search engines are catching up sporadically. By looking at how much control Baidu has of the market share we can see the trend its been heading towards. Just June of this year they held 69% of China’s market share but currently it has dropped to 66%. Other search engine company’s market value have been on the rise. Qihoo a faitly new search engine started out with 1% of the total market share this time last year, now it controls about 17% in just one year. Competition in China’s search engine market is tough and the recent collaboration between Tencent and Sogou could only mean that minor players like Soso and Sogou will make it tougher for Baidu. Let’s say for instance Tencent is able to integrate Sogou’s services into both their QQ and WeChat platforms. One can bet on seeing massive boosts in traffic causing trouble for the company Baidu and Qihoo together. Tencent’s recent move deserves applause, this one move allowed Sogo to enter into double figures for the first time ever and spells massive increase of traffic and monetizing potential. Tencent please take a bow.

Source: Tech In Asia

China Digital

Ways That Chinese E-Commerce Companies Can Win Over Their Consumers

The consumers who are emerging from China are becoming increasingly connected, independent, and confident. They are also adjusting to the amount of choice being presented to them, especially within the realm of e-commerce. China now has nearly 600 million netizens, and the challenge for e-commerce businesses at the moment is finding out exactly what influences customers to spend money online. Research has found that men shop differently than women do. They tend to be more goal-oriented and buy items specifically for themselves. Both sexes, however, look for lower prices and greater convenience while shopping online. More men are actually more active than women when it comes to purchasing items online. Also, 66% of online consumers have microblogs and use social networks, which is information that e-commerce businesses need to capitalize on. The rise of mobile, or m-commerce, shows us that the businesses’ engagement with consumers in a mobile manner is absolutely crucial. Increased sales can be a driver of new sales, as customers regularly share their shopping experiences on social media. Things that companies can do to win over their consumers is to earn their trust, get connected and provide as smooth and convenient an experience as possible, and work on communicating effectively.

Source: CNN

China Digital

Alibaba And China Telecom To Create Cloud Data Center

China Telecom has partnered with Alibaba. The companies plan on creating a cloud data center and putting forward a new marketing model. They will also cooperate in-depth on information services, such as basic communications service, mobile internet, cloud computing, and a data center. Alipay will also be providing credit guarantee to its users to obtain China Telecom custom smartphones for zero yuan. By teaming up, Alibaba and China Telecom will be able to share their promo resources and gain larger user base. In addition to all that has been listed above, the two companies will be offering more innovative hardware and software to provide communications and e-commerce solutions to small and medium enterprises, governments, and incorporations.

Source: Tech Node

China Digital

Ways that Chinese E-Commerce Companies can Win Over their Consumers

The consumers who are emerging from China are becoming increasingly connected, independent, and confident. They are also adjusting to the amount of choice being presented to them, especially within the realm of e-commerce. China now has nearly 600 million netizens, and the challenge for e-commerce businesses at the moment is finding out exactly what influences customers to spend money online. Research has found that men shop differently than women do. They tend to be more goal-oriented and buy items specifically for themselves. Both sexes, however, look for lower prices and greater convenience while shopping online. More men are actually more active than women when it comes to purchasing items online. Also, 66% of online consumers have microblogs and use social networks, which is information that e-commerce businesses need to capitalize on. The rise of mobile, or m-commerce, shows us that the businesses’ engagement with consumers in a mobile manner is absolutely crucial. Increased sales can be a driver of new sales, as customers regularly share their shopping experiences on social media. Things that companies can do to win over their consumers is to earn their trust, get connected and provide as smooth and convenient an experience as possible, and work on communicating effectively.

Source: CNN

China Digital

Alibaba and China Telecom to Create Cloud Data Center

China Telecom has partnered with Alibaba. The companies plan on creating a cloud data center and putting forward a new marketing model. They will also cooperate in-depth on information services, such as basic communications service, mobile internet, cloud computing, and a data center. Alipay will also be providing credit guarantee to its users to obtain China Telecom custom smartphones for zero yuan. By teaming up, Alibaba and China Telecom will be able to share their promo resources and gain larger user base. In addition to all that has been listed above, the two companies will be offering more innovative hardware and software to provide communications and e-commerce solutions to small and medium enterprises, governments, and incorporations.

Source: Tech Node

China Digital

New Update: WeShow Will Be Integrating Into WeChat

About a year ago Tencent was in development of WeShow/ Weishi in Chinese, this video platform allows for up to about 8 second long video clips, it appears that these videos are hosted by Tencent Video. There are few who know about the company and there hasn’t been much buzz or promotions regarding this company within the past year. However, WeChat has now decided to adopt WeShow and integrate it into WeChat’s platform, this means that we will now be able to share video clips and pictures regarding our most memorable moments on WeChat. This feature is still under testing but has potential to become a popular platform in WeChats App.

Source: Tech Node

China Digital

Taobao Updates its Mobile App

Taobao has released a new version of its app that’s more social in nature than its last version. Two plugins were created and integrated into the app to allow for interactive promotions to take place. The first is called “Deals for Fans,” which helps push promotions to followers, and the second is called “Lotto Shaker,” which prompts users to shake their smart phones to try their luck. This new version has also implemented Wangxin, which is a voice messaging app to facilitate communication between consumers and retailers, allowing users to talk to sellers directly. The new app also supports voice messages, images, and emoticons. Users can also “like” items.

Source: Tech Node

China Digital

The Price Of Entry Into E-commerce Discussed

For those of you who ponder how much capital it would take for entry into the e-commerce platform here in China. Research reports have performed a case study that highlights some useful numbers. For clothing and apparel for example it would cost about 100,000 yuan ( USD 16,218) in security deposits and 60,000 yuan in service fees (USD 9,730) Commission charge is around 5% of sales revenue. China online shops need these security deposits in order to prevent e-shops from cheating out their consumers. This security deposit acts as a stockpile in case of fraud that occurs; they then use this money to compensate their consumers. Monthly service fees for B2C’s are also a must to be paid monthly. Commission from trading in the B2C platforms is also charged. To summarize add the sum of security deposits, service fees and commission. For a further example : “Jingdong’s security deposit is 10,000 yuan (USD 1,622), and service fee is 6000 yuan (USD 973), with a 8% commission rate. Dangdang is the same as Jingdong. Yihaodian costs even less, 5000 yuan(USD 810) security deposit and 3600 yuan(USD 584) service fee with a 6% commission rate. QQbuy costs 20,000 yuan (USD 3,244)for security deposit, 6000 yuan (USD 973) service fee. Commission is 5%. Amazon doesn’t charge security deposit and service fee, but charge a 10% commission.”

Source: China Internet Watch

China Digital

The Rise of Mobile E-Commerce in China

With the number of smart phone owners in China on the rise, e-commerce companies have unprecedented access to their customers. Consumers can visit websites at any time – and they really do. Customers visit websites while waiting for their preferred mode of public transport, make purchases while on their morning commute, and share their purchases on various forms of social media, acting as indirect marketers for the products. In addition to this, many shoppers visit mobile sites while at physical malls in order to conduct price comparisons. Liu Qiangdong, the founder of Jingdong Mall, a Chinese e-commerce site, has emphasized again and again that mobile e-commerce will be everything in the future. Jack Ma, founder of the Alibaba group, has even said that “Taobao Mobile will outperform Taobao. According to data from iResearch, mobile e-commerce accounts for 42% of all of China’s mobile internet usage, coming out on top when compared to mobile value-added services and mobile games. Unlike the unprofitable mobile apps industry, PC makers and entrepreneurs are vying for a spot in the mobile e-commerce industry. Mobile e-commerce is a quickly developing subsector of e-commerce in China, with mobile e-commerce transaction volume making up 7.6% of total e-commerce in Q1 2013. When compared to just 0.7% the previous year, we can see that the mobile e-commerce market has grown quite a bit.

Source: CKGSB KNOWLEDGE

China Digital

Alibab's Incorporates E-Commerce Services into its Smart TVs

The first Alibaba smart television made its sales debut yesterday. The Internet giant, together with manufacturer Skyworth, has created a lineup of three smart TVs that use Alibaba’s smart TV operating system and Skyworth’s Tianci system. Alibaba, while providing a platform to watch various television channels, is also trying to prove that online shopping isn’t just limited to computers and mobile devices. Alibaba’s e-commerce services have been integrated into its smart TV operating systems, allowing users to purchase goods and make secure payments linked to Alibaba’s Alipay. The OS also includes games and other forms of entertainment. According to Yu Ce, the vice president of Alibaba, the new smart TV solves the problem of e-payment and brings online shopping to not just the younger generation, but people all different kinds of demographics.

Source: The Next Web

China Digital

The Influence of Mobile Ads on Chinese Mobile Users

In the west, Internet ads are typically considered successful if they average one click for every 100 views. In China, however, 53% of mobile users say that “their consuming behavior was influenced to some extent by mobile ads,” a statistic reported in a new study by Renren Games. A few more significant points from the study are as follows. 71% of mobile users will not go outside without their mobile device in hand. 76% have made purchases via mobile. 46% choose their mobile devices over television and desktop computers. 74% are looking at more purchases from mobile. Finally, 27% say they are more receptive to graphic ads, 20% to text ads, and just 9% to video ads.

Source: Tech In Asia

China Digital

Latest Stats for B2C Shopping Markets

The new stats are in regarding the B2C shopping markets in China. According to China e-Business Research Center, China’s Internet retailing market increased by 47.3% year or year to CNY754.2 billion, which accounts for about 6.8% of total retail sales in consumer goods throughout China. The trading scale for online shopping is predicted to reach CNY 1.741 trillion. T-mall.com has a market share of 50.4% making it number one in Chinese B2C Internet retailing market. Next in line is JD.com with a market share of 20.7% In addition the report also shows a well maintained C2C structure during the 1st half of 2013. Taobao came in 1st place with a 95.1% market share, 2nd place was Tencent’s Paipai.com with about 4.7%.When it comes to China’s express delivery services we see from January to June 2013 delivery companies delivered around 3.84 billion packages with a year on year increase of 60.6% not to mention the related revenue was a whopping CNY 62.98 billion, that equates to a year on year increase of 34.5%.

Source: China Tech News

China Digital

Sina Weibo Acquires Social Search Site Yun Yun

Sina Weibo has acquired Yun Yun, a social search site that was founded by a former Google China executive in early 2012. Yun Yun’s functions include general search, real-time search, image search, and a social network, which was suspended a month ago. A search function is one of six monetization approaches for Sina Weibo, the only approach that hasn’t yet been initiated.

Source: Tech Node

China Digital

Sina Launches New Crossplatform Ad System Longyuan

Introducing Longyuan a recently launched cross platform ad system launched by Sina, Longyuan is integrated into Sina Weibo’s online video service and mobile counterparts. The new ad system covers the spans of both Sina Weibo and Sina news portal. With this new system, User’s as experience will be targeted automatically based on the user account cookie id and preferences. Longyuan is convenient to advertisers in the sense that advertisers can pick and choose how many users they would like to reach out to. They can also control the timing and how often the ads would be shown. Back in March Sina had established Sina Ad Exchang (SAX). SAX is currently connected to more than twenty local demand-side platforms, an important note that differentiates SAX from other as exchange’s would be that the online media ad inventory of SAX comes from Sina’s online properties only.

Source: Tech Node

China Digital

Former Chief of Yahoo States That “Yahoo China Been Hollowed Out by Alibaba’s Ma”

This past weekend Yahoo China has officially shut down their news and community services and is making their exit out of the Chinese market. Yahoo’s history in China began when Yahoo China had transferred its ownership over to Alibaba’s back in 2005. Back in September 2012, Alibaba had spent about $7.1 billion usd in order to recover the 20% share that Yahoo had control over. There are those who believe that while Alibaba was in control they had shut down Yahoo’s service in China prematurely due to the costs. There are also industry leaders today who attribute Yahoo’s failure to Alibaba’s Jack Ma, some blame him as being the instigator who surgically moved a lot of Yahoo China’s core business value into Alibaba. In 2005 when Ma had taken over Yahoo China the first feature that was taken down was their internet searches, Then in January 2007 Ma changed Yahoo China’s information portal model into the search function of business yellow pages, about a year after that Ma had abandoned Yahoo China’s original three business units that entailed new media, searching and communications, transferring the chief of Yahoo’s search division to Taobao’s e-commerce platform. Yahoo China has went from 600 employees back in August 2005 down to 200. All of which are only responsible for information content, email and finance and sale. Back in August 2005 Yahoo bought a 40% stake in Alibaba for $1 billion usd. Xie (Yahoo China’s president at the time) believed Ma had accepted Yahoo’s investment in order to market Yahoo’s search engine enter into the Chinese market. Reports state that “Alibaba didn’t see success over the past years in various moves to transfer yahoo china technology team into Alibabas search business.” These incidences all contributed to Yahoo China’s exit out of the Chinese marketplace.

Source: Want China Times

China Digital

Huawei Provides Platform for Chinese Tech Companies to Expand

Huawei is a company that provides telecom equipment to telecommunication companies. Recently, however, its role in the industry has expanded beyond that and it is now working with content providers who produce mobile apps. Telco companies don’t just want equipment anymore, they want content, and they need that to survive in today’s digital world. Huawei saw the opportunity in this situation and started introducing Chinese app companies to various telco companies. A particularly perfect place for Chinese company expansion is Indonesia, a country with a culture that’s similar to the Chinese market. Having Huawei as a strong connection alone isn’t not sufficient, though. Companies need to be localized and dedicated to win over any market.

Source: Tech In Asia

China Digital

The Top Chinese B2B Platforms in Q2 2013

According to 52b2b.cn research, the top 10 B2B platforms were Alibaba B2B, HC, Global Sources, DHGate, Focus Technology, 315.com, Shengyibaoku, Shanghai steel Union, the global market, B2B.com and IBI. Alibaba was the clear front-runner with a 52.83% in brand influence, driven by site traffic and revenue. The influence indices of HC, Global Sources, DHGate, and Focus Technology have increased slightly since the first quarter. The rest of the companies have been relatively small market players.

Source: China Internet Watch

China Digital

Qihoo Gets Sued Yet Again for “Borrowing” Branding

The relationship between competitors Baidu and Qihoo can be defined as one of the most quarrelsome and bitter relationships ever observed on China’s internet. The relationship between these two competitors recently became worse when Baidu filed a lawsuit against Qihoo for unfair competition. The issues that these two companies have with each other are not likely to be amended and saying that Baidu and Qihoo are not friends might be an understatement. The lawsuit has to do with Qihoo’s 360 Extreme Explorer Browser, Baidu claims that on Qihoo’s bookmark page, the process is that when a users use the Baidu search engine and click on one of the pop-up popular search terms that appears below the search bar, instead of being redirected to Baidu’s search page like it should it redirects the relevant results onto Qihoo’s search page. This feature on the browser no longer seems to be existent when tested earlier by other user’s .Which in no way means Baidu is making a false claim, you can bet on Baidu having evidence before filing a lawsuit against Qihoo for 650,000 RMB (about $104,000). This isn’t the first time Qihoo has had to pay the bill, they have lost multiple cases to Tencent in the past and have lost a case with Baidu, costing them a whopping $72,000 in damages plus a public apology. With Qihoo’s past history it’s not hard to see how this case will turn out. A lot of users ponder about why Google hasn’t taken the same action against Qihoo’s Extreme Explorer browser. The URL is chrome.360.cn and the layout looks extremely alike. Qihoo sure has a large record when it comes to “borrowing” branding from their competitors.

Source: Tech In Asia

China Digital

The Effect of Mobile Chat Apps on the Telco Industry

With the overwhelming advent of mobile chat apps, telco industries have been forced to endure painful transformations. Simply put, the widespread use of chat apps means less revenue for telephone companies. Such apps provide a great variety of capabilities to users, such as sending voice clips, making voice calls, exchanging text messages, sharing photos, and allowing access to social media. In order to keep afloat, telephone companies need to not see chat apps as rivals, but as partners in order to provide joint services to customers. This step is critical, as Asians access the Internet through their mobile phone more than those in the U.S. and in Europe, a trend that is brought on by the younger generations.

Source: Tech In Asia

China Digital

China Unicom’s New Subscription Plan

China Unicom has recently released their new subscription plan for those who use WeChat. The new SIM card enables WeChat users to be able to access the app even if they are not on a full 3G subscription plan. It seems as this strategy is working out seeing that the amount of customers have already passed the one million mark, according to China Unicom. This particular plan’s idea came from Unicom’s Guandong subsidiary, which means that this plan will not be available to every store nationwide. However, if their customer base continues to grow at the current rate, it will only be a matter that this plan will be heavily marketed nationwide and thus be available to the masses. It is unclear whether Unicom’s new plan will be able to ease the challenges with regards to OTT apps. The current rates for the new plans range from $5/ month to over $20/month. This makes it difficult to calculate the revenue from their new million subscribers, or how much of that money goes to Tencent. The competition is now loading up with Feixin for China Mobile and Yixin for China Telecom (similar version of WeChat). If China Unicom’s new plan continues to grow in members it will be interesting to watch China Mobile and Telecom’s next move, one might bet that they will consider becoming a partner with Tencent.

Source: Tech In Asia

China Digital

Smoothness of Weibo and Swiftness of Weixin

Sina’s Weibo have been in competition with Tencent’s Weixin in terms of market share. However both companies have grew to fill very different user niches. During last week’s court proceedings regarding politician Bo Xilai, we were able to see the difference between China’s top two social media services. The proceedings of the trial were broadcasted in bits and pieces over Weibo an equivalent of Twitter. Observers debated on issues in regards to court proceedings passionately. The service itself has accumulated a massive 500 million registered users since their launch date back in 2009 and has been a popular place for people to express their stances on issues and by is known to be the place to tune in to public figures remarks on issues. Weixin on the other hand takes a different approach in user operations, following a style much more similar to facebook it allows the user to get more intimate with being able to share texts, images and also little voice messages . One awesome thing about Weibo is how fast the service works. “At a wedding this July in Zhangjiakou, a midsize city in northern Hebei province, guests waved smartphones to take photos of the bride and groom — and several photos appeared on Weixin before the ceremony was even over.” Wow Both Weibo and Weixin have their advantages in the current market. If you want to tune in to the Chinese public opinion on news in China go with Weibo. Weixin is coming up in ranks with about 100 million registered users outside in China using WeChat, it is very possible to see Weixin taping into the market of Viral marketing and Professional networking.

Source: Mashable

China Digital

Chinese E-commerce Site Turns it's Customers into Models

The belief that many women like to check out other women’s appearances has recently been confirmed in a recent study. Vancl, a Chinese e-commerce site has been aware about this long before the study took place. They understand that woman have this instinctive desire to get ahead and as a result encourage their customers to post pictures of themselves modeling their attire. Everything from hair products to dresses, Vancl encourages their customer’s innate desire to see other women and be seen by other women. Vancl is like Uniqo in the sense that they sell their own brand of clothing, adding all these elements together what you end up with is an interesting e commerce social experiment. Where the customer of the bought item of clothing ends up being the model, potential customers can now see previous customers dressed in the item that they are thinking about purchasing. Although there are a few male users, so far Vincl market base users and consumers mainly consist of females. When a user clicks on a photo within Vancl Star, the user will be able to see their own photo and also a e-commerce listing for the product their wearing. This listing will also include both the ‘add to cart’ button and the price of the item. Vancl is a bit similar to Social media sites such as Twitter and Sina Weibo in the sense that the user will be able to have both fans and followers and other users clicking either the ‘likes’ or ‘favorites’ icon. The user also has access to her gallery of images as well as access to others. Vincl has made it easy for the user to share their photos by being connected to a range of Chinese Social Networks, such as Sina Weibo , Renren, and Tencents Qzone.! Awesome. This helps both the good looking user and product to get a bit of internet fame. Vancl Star has recently launched a mobile app for the Android system but are still in the process of working out the kinks in their app for the iOS based system. This in addition to their better known web app will hopefully equate to more growth for the future of Vancl. However in Shanghai’s cut throat e-shopping industry, recent data has shown that Vancl is actually struggling, despite their approach of using female customers to help advertise their products. If we look at Vincl latest market share figures this year in Q2, we can see that they have lost market share which resulted in a drop among the ranks of China’s e-commerce sites, pushing them back to 10th place! Ouch! Vancl may be the biggest Clothing internet retailer in the country, but they have many challenges to face within such a cut throat industry Vancl is hoping for a 50 percent growth this year but when one takes a look at the IPO one should understand that it’ll be a tough road ahead for Vancl.

Source: Tech In Asia

China Digital

Search Engine Usage Trends in China

In a recent study about the Chinese Internet user population, it shows that the Chinese internet population has emerged to a whopping 591 million members, that means that in every 1.6 seconds a new internet user joins the baffling large Chinese internet population. Go-Globe.com has recently released in infographic that provides a much more in depth view about the search engine usage in China. It covers everything from revenue structure to the market share of major Chinese search engines, etc. When see that almost 500 million users spend the majority of their time engaging in activities relating to search services, online video watching, news and information and e-commerce. As a result of these activities search engine revenues are being foreseen to skyrocket in the next 4 years form a recorded 28.06 billion dollars in 2012 to a 75.35 billion dollars in 2016. Wow! Currently the leader of the Chinese Search Engine is Baidu taking about 65.74% of the population and market share. The runner up is 360.cn racking up 16.58% Go-Globe took a close look at the revenue structure of major search engines and found that 76.5% of their revenue came from keyword advertising and 14.6% came from display ads from ad networks and 5.3 form navigation advertising. This information tells us that keyword advertising is still king. When it comes to mobile search traffic the momentum is definitely picking up, in 2012 we see that mobile search traffic maintained 94% with a decline of 20% in PC search volume. In 2012, the date shows that 96.9 of Chinese internet users uses Baidu’s mobile search. When it comes to mobile search engines Baidu is Number one. Another interesting thing Go-Globe found was that when it comes to search volume between mobile phones and desktop the desktop showed 85.2% frequency as opposed to the 56.2% frequency in mobile phones, which means that the population of mobile phone users is growing in China. The average search frequency of Chinese Internet user’s ranges show that about 17.5% of the Chinese internet population search more than 5 times a day, 22.9% bout 1 to 4 times a day and 8.8% search several times a week. The other 50.7% only occasionally search. That’s a lot of searches! Online shopping ranks high in the most information searched for by Chinese Search Engine users with a 44.6% of the population using their laptop device and 22.9% using their mobile device. With these statistics and data one can assume that the demand for online shopping is in expansion and will continue to grow with staggering numbers in the foreseeable future.

Source: iresearchchina

China Digital

The battle in Online Payment Channels Continues

The battle to control China’s online payment channels just got bigger. In latest reports JD.com has just made the move of ending its cooperation with Sina Weibo and Alipay, this is an even larger hit then recent moves involving blocking two Tencent products; Tenpay and WeChat. JD.com said in its announcement that the company's cooperation with Alibaba's payment subsidiary Alipay will soon expire and users will not be able to login or pay for orders on JD.com with Alipay accounts in the future. The company said they regret the inconvenience and advise the registration of new accounts on JD.com. As an alternative JD.com is offering a channel for users who previously used Alipay accounts for payment on the website. This option will involve users being able to sign up for a new JD account which mirror the Alipay accounts and information will be transferred.

Source: China Tech News

China Digital

China aims to expand luxury goods, property tax

China’s leaders are looking to reshape the economy to one driven more consumers than by exports, big industries and credit. The world’s second-largest economy is expected to expand a pilot property tax beyond Shanghai and Chongqing. According to the official Xinhua news agency, the Finance Minister Lou Jiwei announced that the nation would levy consumption tax on goods that results in exploitation of resources and environmental damage.

Source: CNBC

China Digital

China To Overtake The US In E-Commerce Expenditure

The latest industry report named the ‘China E-commerce Report’ conducted by Bain & Co suggests that China is gearing up to give the United States a run for its money, more specifically, its e-commerce money. China’s e-commerce expenditure will potentially pass that of the US by the end of 2013 and is expected to reach CNY 3.3 trillion (US$532 billion) in 2015. The e-commerce market in China will show year on year growth of 32 percent in the coming three years which will be 50 percent higher than the US by 2015 said the annual industry report. This growth can be expected as more and more lower tier consumers come online as infrastructure improves, demand for international brands grows, and to be frank, not using e-commerce becomes a thing of the past. But e-commerce in China is not as simple as setting up an online store because the environment well and truly demands a multi-channel approach as Serge Hoffmann co-author of the report states “Retailers need to reach Chinese consumers across all channels including brick-and-mortar stores, online stores and mobile presence, otherwise they’ll lose growth opportunities,”

Source: Want China Times

China Digital

E-commerce Sales in Q2 Boom to $71 Billion

China’s e-shoppers now reach a number of over 240 million! The outcome from all these shoppers is an average spending amount $40,000 per second, but wait this number will soon seem small. New iResearch statistics suggest that China’s e-commerce market spending will reach a new record high as Q2 2013 shows growth of 45.2 percent up from Q2 in 2012. In monetary value this equates to an estimated total of CNY 437.13 billion ($71 billion) spent in Q2 2013. So who are the triumphant top e-commerce platforms in this massive market? In the B2C sector, Alibaba continues to be the mega force holding 50.6 percent of market share in sales an increase of 9.1% compared to Q2 2012 while Jingdong (previously 360Buy) follows with 17.1 percent. However the the YoY growth rate of Suning, Tencent, Gome, Yihaodian and Vipshop were higher than the overall growth of B2C industry. While B2C sales are growing well the real power rests in the hand of China’s smaller sellers. Total online sales in China amount to a whopping $71 billion and while B2C sales accounts for $25.6 billion of this the rest is attributed to the C2C sector.

Source: Tech In Asia

China Digital

Price Is King In Asia

The poor service standards determined Asian consumers in Asia to pay more for a good customer experience. According to a survey cited by Shanghai Daily, decades of economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region have reshaped people’s taste for quality services, but a high number of companies seem to ignore this fact. Most of the times the result is unacceptable for the customers: rude staff, inflexible procedures or they are just unresponsive to service requests. In this case, there is only one thing that can bring satisfaction to the customers: high prices.

Source: RetailInAsia

China Digital

Tencent builds e-commerce center in Guangzhou

Next year or early 2015, Tencent Ecommerce Holding Co, the online shopping unit of China's largest Internet company Tencent will start building a billion-yuan e-commerce operation center in the southern city of Guangzhou. Tencent’s move is expected to help the company catch up with business rivals such as Alibaba and 360Buy. 51Buy, another e-commerce unit under Tencent, currently has 16 logistics centers around the country to ensure swift delivery. The Guangzhou operation center will cover all the cities in south China and will deal with orders that worth more than 20 billion yuan.

Source: RetailInAsia

China Digital

China’s Way To Clean Internet?

After recent events and multiple ‘rumor spreading’ scandals within China’s online environment, officials at the China Internet Conference held in Beijing in August agreed upon an apparent ‘resolution’ for such issues in the form of ‘7 baselines’. These are aimed at creating a favorable online environment; however the way these guidelines are presented speaks a world of words. It is fairly obvious to everyone that China’s government is taking its crackdown on online activities seriously; even talk on WeChat is not immune. But where do you draw the line? If the government follows through then will internet users be faced with legal penalties for simply sharing an opinion with a friend over WeChat? Or if you unknowingly share an article with incorrect details, you’re spreading rumors! Although we cannot yet know the consequences of this law yet, it does leave one feeling slightly vulnerable about what they write.

1. The Base Line of Laws and Regulations
2. The Base Line of the Socialist System
3. The Base Line of National Interests
4. The Base Line of Citizens' Legal Rights and Interests
5. The Base Line of Public Order
6. The Moral Base Line
7.  The Base Line of Information Accuracy

Source: China Digital Times

China Digital

Alibaba Group Faults To Union Pay

Alipay the online payment venture owned by e-commerce giant Alibaba Group announced yesterday that it will be putting an end to its cash-on-delivery system. The group will official stop all offline POS payment activities. This news was not released giving the impression that this is a strategic move for the group, hinting that the decision was made amongst pressure from Union Pay, China’s only domestic bank card organization. Alipay has released statements to news services and on their official Weibo accounts "Alipay will stop all offline POS (point-of-sale) businesses because of some reasons as everybody knows," they also stated their apologies to their users, partners and reassured that they will not stop exploring payment innovations. This is a very different tune than the group was singing last month when they announced plans to invest CNY 500 million over three years in to their cash-on-delivery service focused towards offering e-commerce merchants and courier firms lower costs, the overall goal being 60,000 POS terminals added. Sadly yesterday’s statement signaled the end of the groups POS strategy as well as eliminated a key consumer payment service

Source: Caijing

China Digital

There’s No Stopping the Flow of Money

Moblie payments are about to get even easier! A new product called Veme E-pay has the combined capabilities of a mobile charger and a bank card reader, virtually wiping out all obstacles of making a mobile payment. The genius product’s appearance is similar to a standard wireless mobile phone charger with the head doubling as a card reader. While we say ‘similar’ to a wireless phone charger, this one is smaller and slimmer than an Iphone 5. This great innovation is the product of one of China’s leading digital payment services Lakala, therefore the only catch is that users must have the Lakala app on their phone to process the payments. Other than that this company has created the ultimate link between offline and mobile payments likely to induce even higher volumes of mobile e-commerce sales in the near future. This gadget is not yet on the market, but we can expect it to appear on the scene very soon, the company has said the price will be between CNY 1000-2000.

Source: Tech Node

China Digital

Tencent Making Moves

Last week online giant Tencent announced that’s its own e-commerce shopping site yixun.com will integrate full support of a Wechat payment system for PC, android and iOS devices. On top of this Yixun sources suggest that Yixun will soon apply a product offering service to WeChat 5.0 meaning that users can simply click on any product link within a chat window and complete order and payment directly; basically the dream package. Speculation increased when last week Yixun quietly launched a Wechat online payment function, meaning that Wechat payment is now an option for payment through the site, perhaps the first step to all over integration of operations. So basically, Wechat users will soon be able to directly pull product links from the Yixun Wechat page and then share with other users who can click directly on link for e-commerce with no need to leave the Wechat app, seems like a pretty ideal outcome for Wechatters! Most likely this move will thrust Yixun in to the online shopping platform ‘to be’ list very quickly…watch this space.

Source: China Internet Watch

China Digital

The Online Shopping Landscape in China Drives New Challenges For Companies

It is not a secret to anyone that Chinese consumers are searching to buy quality goods at higher prices and use social media to gather product information. According to a new report by The American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai (AmCham Shanghai), in Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities, an increasing number of consumers are relying on consistency and integrity in their purchasing choices, a large change from a previously price driven market. This change signals greatly required alterations by both Chinese and International consumer brands with regard to the marketing channels they use and most importantly the content they drive in China. As a result of this the report details that with the increased usage of e-commerce and social media, the second most significant trend detailed in the report stated that both multinational and Chinese companies recognize the importance of developing digital marketing and sales channels. However, most companies declared that they are yet to be adequately prepared to convert growing online interactions to a sales advantage. The report, however, noted that leaders in this area demonstrate the benefits of strategic use of data derived from online viewing and purchasing habits and from this have displayed desirable results through alignment of digital activities with their corporate strategies and across organizational functions. For many large companies in their current situation this gives them the opportunity to build products and brands that can deliver great value. Experts are confident that this trend will increase brand loyalty among consumers focused on value which means that they will pay higher prices for quality products and services. Still to get to the sales conversion point consumer companies face large challenges in online retailing in this dynamic market.

Source: Retail In Asia

China Digital

So What Gives? In One Word, E-commerce

The rumors are true! After much speculation Baidu has announced its investment in Renren’s group buy subsidiary Nuomi worth CNY 160 Million. What speculators did not anticipate was the level of control Baidu desired, now made clear as the CNY 160 Million gains them a dominant 59 percent of the Nuomi company. So the key question now is why Nuomi? In lesser words, E-commerce. It seems that Baidu is scared of getting left behind as key competitors Alibaba and Tencent are well established (prior) and begin to make tracks in the area of e-commerce (latter). Although Baidu has its own group buy platform it does not hold a strong position, again leading us to another reason the giant acquired Nuomi. The platform holds a much greater share than Baidu’s group buy subsidiary, ranked number 5 by market share in China. Looking at the top five group-buy companies we can see a picture unfold and Baidu’s plans become clear. Although Baidu was hoping to invest in Diangping, reports suggest the offer was rebuffed making this impossible, leaving Baidu to consider alternative ways to get their foot in to e-commerce. Number one and two ranked group buy sites are now owned or invested in by Alibaba leaving only three viable options that would put Baidu in the competitive position they want, and it seems Nuomi, ranked fifth, won out against numbers 3 and 4 due to a lower price and only a small difference in performance. Finally you may ask why group buy and not a traditional e-commerce company? For now one can assume location data to be a large pull-factor for Baidu as Noumi has local operations across China offering a lot of information that may be integrated in to say, Baidu Maps. However it is unlikely that this is the full extent, Baidu has big plans in the pipelines so we will have to wait and see.

Source: Tech In Asia

China Digital

Sina Weibo’s The Place To Be

Sina’s advertising revenue has reached 30 Million USD according to its Q2 finance report. This shows a 209% year-on-year increase and contributes to 80% of Sina Weibo’s total revenue of 37.7 Million USD. Although Sina Weibo banked in with net loss as a result of a 27.1 Million USD one-off charge, Weibo’s advertising revenue has helped to cushion the impact by outperforming projections made by the company. Final revenue for Q2 was 120.6 Million USD a year-on-year increase of 17%. As we know in April 2013 Alibaba acquired 18% of Weibo’s share capital through a 586 Million USD investment. Weibo’s benefits from this venture are already bearing their heads. By the end of Q2 the number of active users on Weibo had increased by 8.3% since March, the overall number standing at 54 Million users. Also increasing is the time users are spending on Weibo on their mobile phones, Sina reports the amount grew by 14.5%, no wonder advertising revenue is growing. Looking further in to 2013 we can only watch to see the influence and impact Alibaba will bring on Sina’s mobile revenue in Q3 and 4.

ina Source: China Internet Watch

China Digital

Baidu To Save Renren

It seems Baidu is going to save the day for social network Renren’s failing group buy subsidiary Nuomi. According to reports the search engine giant is expected to announced today confirming what has until now been speculation, Baidu is to invest somewhere between $300-500 Million in to the group buy platform. Assuming reports are accurate this investment will offer a saving hand to Renren offering the cash that Nuomi desperately needs to move forward from its current state of continuous losses. As for past interest by Baidu regarding the purchase of Dianping platform, this new investment will most likely mean the end of such attempts. The question on everyone’s minds is what Baidu plans to do with Nuomi, but the chances are letting thw platform lose anymore money is not on the cards, thus signaling the possible emergence of a reformed B2C e-commerce platform in the near future.

Source: Tech In Asia

China Digital

Wealth, WeChat and Other Things…

The GroupM Knowledge-Hurun Wealth Report, 2013, released last week by the Hurun Research Institute offers an interesting insight in to the lives of China’s rich and famous, helping marketers to understand this group of wealthy consumers and how to engage them. The report details where they are living geographically, their investment consumption choices and most importantly their media usage. The overall number of millionaires in China (individuals whose personal wealth exceeded CNY 10 Mill) increased by 3% to 1.05 Million in 2012. While those classified as the super-rich (individuals with personal wealth exceeding CNY 100 Mill) increased by 2% in 2012 to 64,500. 2012 statistics show a decrease in personal wealth in China for the second consecutive year. However the current level of wealth is promising for companies involved in the luxury goods industry; for every 1,300 people in China 1 is a millionaire and for every 20,000 people 1 is a member of China’s super-rich class. So where do the rich chose to live? Right now Beijing remains the most popular place to live followed by Guangdong and Shanghai. This stated the report shows that Tianjin had the fasted growing wealth rate overall. However geography needn’t be a factor of restriction for online marketing as the report shows that 80% of all China’s wealthy people use the Chinese web app WeChat, in fact they prefer it over Sina Weibo; hint for targeting this group online. Interestingly, 73% believe that they are happier then Millionaires from the previous generation, and what do the rich want most? Apparently good health. Hello health products.

Source: China Internet Watch

China Digital

Taobao Offers Education

Taobao has now launched the new addition to their offering, ‘Taobao Classmates’ an online market for educational course offerings, whether it be make-up or language learning, all can be now be open for business on Taobao. Basically education organizations, teachers, agencies and third party sites(Tmall) are allowed to set-up an online store selling educational content on including course videos and live broadcasts, course documents, even offline events. Although many established educational institutes had already set-up on Taobao this new offering allows the new ability for consumers to watch the course videos without leaving the platform and the official launch of this focused online market is expected to attract many more. Already Taobao Classmates has been well received with a number of well-known companies setting up stores and the platform predicts that unique visitors will reach 500,000 by the end of September, with further estimates of possible earnings equating to CNY 1 Billion per year.

Source: Tech Node

China Digital

Taobao/Tmall in the Mobile Internet Age

In the era of big data and mobile devices, Taobao/Tmall’s strategy is changing. How so? With mobile e-commerce transactions expected to reach ¥202 billion this year, with 648 million users in Mainland China, the sites are redefining themselves to capitalise on the increasing number of online vendors in China’s mobile realm – the majority of whom are located in three-tier cities and below. In addition to attracting as many potential customers/merchants as possible via online campaigns, this means increasing the company’s distribution capacity in China’s lower-tier cities and inland regions. Without a distribution foothold in these areas, shipping costs are likely to spiral out of control, since goods will have to be dispatched to consumers from a great distance. Not only does this detract from the customer experience, because consumers will have to wait longer for their purchases to be delivered, given that global energy costs are likely to continue to rise in the medium term, distribution costs may begin to eat into net profit.

Source: ChinaByte

China Digital

China Mobile Eyes Big Data

China Mobile has a problem. Although its Q2 revenue grew 10% year-on-year, net profit is stagnating – it grew by only 1.5%. What could be the reasons for this? China Mobile faces a two-pronged attack from its competitors – firstly, from China Unicom and China Telecom, secondly, from the rise of microblogging sites. Thus, China Mobile is struggling to keep its 740 million customers – they are being lured away by other mobile companies, as well as alternative, more cutting edge forms of communication. The result is that the company’s operating expenses, that is to say the amount China Mobile spends on marketing, amongst other things, have been steadily increasing – they now account for 75% of its total costs, negating any increase in revenue.

Source: Beijing Times

China Digital

Mobile Payment up 300% in China

Mobile payments in China have tripled since Q2 2012 – that’s the verdict of China’s central bank. More than 371 million transactions took place over the past year, generating over ¥2 trillion in revenue. What could be the reasons for this? For one thing, mobile payment is convenient – a user can make a payment anytime, anyplace with an Internet connection. Traditional online payment methods are not convenient – they require the user to be in close proximity to a PC/laptop at home or at work. In addition, so-called “old-school” mobile payment, that is to say using top up credits to pay online, is now seen as a relic of the previous decade. For both these reasons, mobile payments in China are expected to grow at an unprecedented rate until 2014.

Source: SinaTech

China E-Commerce

Taobao in Rural China

Taobao isn’t just an urban phenomenon – it’s changing China’s rural communities too. Most of the online sales revenue generated by Taobao merchants in rural China has to do with agriculture. Nevertheless, China’s farmers turned venture capitalists pack a punch – they have generated ¥1.5bn to date. Although only 1.5 million Taobao merchants live in rural areas, the site offers them the opportunity to improve their standard of living. A farmer who is a registered Taobao merchant has access to far more potential customers nationwide than one of his or her offline counterparts. In the medium term, Taobao’s increasing popularity in the agriculture industry is expected to have a “trickle down” effect. What does this mean? As China’s farmers look for new ways to compete with their global competitors over time, e-commerce will become one of many solutions – minimal startup costs, with instant access to new markets.

Source: Beijing Times

China Digital

Sina Corp’s Q2 Blues

Sina Corp suffered a net loss of ¥70 million in Q2 2013 – compared to a net profit of 200 million in the same quarter last year. What could be the reasons for this? The company was expected to remain in the black, leaving many digi-gurus scratching their heads. The answer? – Restructuring. Sina is trying to increase its mobile Internet presence by launching many new platforms on new smartphones, tablets and other hand-held devices. In the short term, the shift of emphasis from static to mobile Internet has not generated as much revenue as Sina had expected. Its restructuring plan also leaves the company vulnerable to its competitors’ advances – above all, Tencent. Sina’s deal with Alibaba in April of this year, to grant the e-commerce giant an 18% stake in Sina Weibo, was expected to compensate for the revenue lost through restructuring. Alibaba got microblogging advertising space, Sina didn’t fall into the red – that was the plan. It seems Sina’s gamble hasn’t quite yet paid off.

Source: YNET

China Digital

Online Advertising – Size Matters

China’s online advertising market continues to grow – 17% on Q1 2013. Online advertising in China now stands is now worth ¥23 billion. Search engine and online video advertising saw the largest percentage increases in user signups, uploads and downloads. For brands, online advertising is the gift that keeps on giving. Why is this? It might have something to do with the way the market is structured. Baidu and Taobao together account for more than 60% of online advertising revenue, whereas the remaining 40% is made up of smaller players such as Qihoo, Souhu and Youku. On one level, the variety of online advertising providers offers brands greater choice – each company, whether it’s big or small, specialises in search engine, vertical search, video, rich media or brand graphical adds, which allows brands to choose the advertising strategy best suited to their needs. On another level, brands looking to do business with a bigger company in order to benefit from economies of scale, experience and a track record can choose Baidu or Taobao, brands who want a smaller, more focused set of expertise can go to a smaller online advertising specialist.

Source: China Internet Watch

China E-Commerce

How do China’s Low-Frequency Shoppers Behave?

China’s low-frequency shoppers are the main contributors to sales revenue for small brands – that’s the verdict of Bain & Company’s “China Shoppers Report 2013”. What might be the reasons for this? Firstly, the bulk of online shopping in China takes place away from the media spotlight – not on Single’s Day, not in exclusive districts of first-tier cities, but by middle-income consumers in China’s first, second and third-tier cities, as well as those living in towns in close proximity to metropolitan areas. The explosion of e-commerce in recent years has been built not on one-off luxury purchases, but by high-frequency shoppers buying daily essentials, such as groceries. However, for brands whose market share is relatively small, low-frequency shoppers, that is to say consumers who make a purchase less than five times per year, are the mother lode. A consumer who purchases a particular brand less frequently tends to spend more per purchase, providing the brand with greater sales revenue. This paints a promising picture for newcomers – despite the fact that a newcomer to say, luxury watches, would have many competitors, the sales revenue generated by low-frequency, high-income shoppers would compensate for the lack of market share.

Source: China Internet Watch

China E-Commerce

Tmall Aims for ¥18bn on Singles' Day

Singles' Day is just under 3 months away (11.11), and Tmall is already preparing for battle. From now until next Friday (22.8), the company is recruiting online vendors to enter the B2C fray in November. Building on last year’s success, Tmall has announced that it will organise offline events to widen participation in the run up to Singles' Day. Becoming a Tmall vendor for the biggest day of the year in online retail is a hot ticket - the company plans to woo potential vendors with an exclusive rewards package, details of which have yet to be revealed. E-commerce gurus expect Tmall to exceed its target of ¥18bn in sales revenue this year – a prediction based on site’s performance in 2012, as well as that of its sister company in Alibaba Group, Taobao.

Source: TechWeb

China Digital

The Mobile Internet in 2014

The mobile Internet has brought about many changes – some predicted, some unexpected. However, in the era of big data, it is now easier than ever to forecast the future of the global digital landscape. So, how will China’s mobile Internet market look in 2014? Firstly, with the number of regular domestic mobile Internet users now at 500 million, and smartphone prices scheduled to decrease due to an increase in domestic suppliers, coupled with the spread of high-speed networks across China’s lower-tier cities, we should see the number of mobile netziens climb to 800 million by the end of 2014. Secondly, when it comes to high-speed networks, we can expect the number of 3G and 4G users in China to reach 500 million and 10 million respectively next year – a result of the ever-increasing domestic demand for faster network speeds. With the take-up of faster broadband speeds in the workplace, Chinese consumers are no longer satisfied with having to wait 30 minutes to download a mobile app. Thirdly, 2014 will see the emergence of “human intelligent mobile terminals”- in other words, more mobile Internet-based devices to enhance users’ day to day lives. Smart watches, smartphones with ever-larger screens that can be synched with a car’s GPS system – but to name a few.

Source: Bit Forum Anonymous

China Digital

Online Advertising - The Sky's The Limit

Online brand advertising in China is now worth ¥6.82 billion – an increase of 6% on Q1 2013. The demand for online advertising is rising across a variety of industries. Food and drink, apparel, cosmetics – all three have increased their online advertising presence by 20% since Q2 2012. Because the demand for Internet marketing services is derived from the demand for Internet advertising, companies offering these services are continuing to prosper. The amount they spend on brand optimisation in Q2 2013 grew by 25% compared with the same quarter last year. What could be the reasons for this? Why are brands so enthusiastic about online advertising? The answer? – Impact. Although the Samsung, Volkswagen and Coca-Cola logos become a part of the Pudong skyline after sunset, this is more of a status symbol than an advertising strategy. Each brand knows that it can reach every Chinese consumer with an Internet connection by uploading video content to search engines, SNS and e-commerce sites, than it can with the same content projected onto a skyscraper in Shanghai. The more consumers the brand reaches, the greater its impact.

Source: iResearch

China E-Commerce

Taobao Video Shopping - Will It Last?

Given that most Taobao sellers tend to use microblogging sites to promote their goods, is Taobao’s Youku-powered video promotion site a waste of time and money? The site is designed for experienced Taobao sellers who want to create a video archive of their products that looks professional. However, since the site’s launch earlier this year, it hasn’t exactly made a splash. What could be the reasons for this? Firstly, although Taobao sellers have the freedom to upload whatever kinds of videos they like to promote their products, which opens the door to many creative possibilities, many of them do not have advanced graphic design skills. The result of this is video content that looks unprofessional, which deters potential customers. Secondly, it is true that foreign and Chinese brands alike are increasingly using video as a promotion tool, but they are using larger, more established and respected video platforms to promote their products, such as Baidu Video Search, as well as their Tmall flagship stores and official websites. When a brand’s video content appears online, it embodies the brand. Therefore, video content has to be produced by people with the right skills and expertise, or the brand risks tarnishing its online profile. Faced with expertly designed video content, it seems unlikely that Taobao’s video site will be able to compete in the medium term, as more and more brands enter video SEO.

Source: Tech2IPO

China E-Commerce

SEM and SEO in China

Search engines are big business in China – the market was worth ¥ 74billion in the second quarter of this year. The rise of search engines is part of a wider narrative – multichannel retail and big data. Search engine marketing (SEM) allows brands to tap in to consumers’ online activity. Search “jeep” in Baidu, you’ll see Cherokee, Land Rover and Mercedes Benz. It is estimated that 4 in every 10 online purchases in China begins like this – the user looks up a non-specific product name, encounters brand sites and/or advertising and browses until making a purchase. In today’s digital landscape however, SEM isn’t the only marketing tool brands have available to them. In the earlier days of network marketing, search engine optimisation (SEO) and SEM were seen as competing marketing philosophies – you were either an “SEM guy” or an “SEO guy”. Some people even used them interchangeably, without knowing what they really meant. Now, the explosion of online retail means that brands don’t want to miss out on any potential customers - they don’t just want to use keywords and back end tools, they also want algorithms, link building, “white hat" and “black hat” techniques. Each brand, each site, is different. The reason for the variety of online marketing strategies is to give clients the choice, to suit their individual needs.

Source: ChinaByte

China E-Commerce

China SME B2B Market Worth ¥5bn

IResearch reports that the SME B2B market in China was worth ¥4.96bn in the first six months of 2013 – an increase of 19.2% on 2012. However, the market grew at a slower rate in Q2 than Q1 – what could be the reasons for the slowdown? Although domestic demand has remained strong so far this year, the international picture tells a different story. As China’s exports have slowed, so has the demand for cross-border e-commerce. Has the slowdown changed the market landscape at all? It seems not – the 8 largest companies in 2012 still dominate SME B2c, with 63.9% market share. Alibaba maintained its lead with 42.9% in Q2, 1.2% higher than Q1. Alibaba’s latest addition to its e-commerce arsenal, the “pay for performance” (P4P) service on its international website, is the main reason for the increase in market share.

Source: China Internet Watch

China E-Commerce

E-Commerce – New Alliances, Old Rivalries

You might think that not much is happening in online retail. You’d be wrong. On the surface – it’s true that the market is growing year-on-year. However, behind the scenes – e-commerce is evolving. Soon, it will be a different animal altogether. E-commerce isn’t just about selling goods and services from business to consumer anymore. It’s about microblogging, mobile apps, devices and circles. It has to do with the entire user experience. As shopping has become an increasingly digitalised activity for Chinese consumers, so too have the working day, correspondence and leisure. Therefore, online shopping is no longer a novelty – it has become familiar, banal. In order to exceed user expectations, companies have to offer something new, something different. In China, they are doing exactly that. Take Sina Weibo – Taobao’s account synchronisation option, for example – more choice and utility for the user, more advertising space for an online retailer via a microblogging site. Tencent’s WeChat 5.0, which allows users to make online purchases, and which Alibaba recently blocked its users’ access. Although spun as a “security measure”, the move was widely interpreted as a deliberate attempt to safeguard Alipay, Alibaba’s own online payment platform. It is now rumoured that Tencent is planning to team up with online shopping mall JD.com in order to exclude Alipay from JDs list of supported online payment platforms. This would enhance the user experience for some consumers, but not for others. We can expect more cooperation, and confrontation, as Chinese e-commerce continues to evolve in the coming years.

Source: Titanium Media

China E-Commerce

The Future of Exports? E-Commerce!

With traditional exports in June having posted the biggest decline since the 2009 global downturn, China aims to promote further growth in cross-border e-commerce. In June, exports contracted 3.1 percent year-on-year, the first monthly decrease since January 2012 and the biggest decline since the 2009 world recession. Over the past few weeks, the government has acted to stabilise trade. Citing the complex and challenging trade environment, Beijing has pledged to provide convenient and efficient e-commerce platforms for exporters and help them enlarge their overseas network, reducing costs.

Source: China.Org

China E-Commerce

JD.com Gets an IT Makeover

E-commerce in China is skyrocketing. The average number of users accessing online retail platforms via the mobile Internet was 122 million per month in the first half of 2013. JD.com, which accounts for 50% of the B2C market, saw its revenue increase in line with the rise of the mobile Internet – a 22% rise on its 2012 figure. However, such unprecedented levels of growth present online retailers with new challenges – how do IT systems adapt to the rising tide of Internet traffic? Will they be overwhelmed the sheer volume of hits, searches and payment requests? Faced with an ever-increasing number of online shoppers, JD.com has taken the initiative. The company has announced that it plans to upgrade its entire IT system in partnership with Fusion-io – a Salt Lake City-based hardware/software developer. Fusion io’s input will enable JD.com to gather big data in new ways, as well increasing the speed at which its online platform responds to user searches, queries and credit card purchases.

Source: ChinaByte

China E-Commerce

E-Commerce is On the Move

For Internet newbies, mobile devices are now their first point of contact with online shopping. 2013 is expected to be a landmark year for Chinese mobile e-commerce – “This is the year in which online retailers have shifted their strategic focus to the mobile realm”, say market gurus. Broadly speaking, R&D investment no longer goes into developing new technology to enhance the PC user’s customer experience. Companies are churning out mobile apps for smartphones and tablets instead. The shift of emphasis from static to mobile technology is not just confined to China’s online retailers. Baidu’s recent acquisition of 91 Wireless was widely interpreted as a long-term, strategic move. Although PCs and laptops aren’t likely to become obsolete in the near future, it seems they are less and less popular when it comes to e-commerce-related activities – browsing, price comparison, and online payment.

Source: ChinaByte

China E-Commerce

Tencent and Alibaba – the Battle of B2c

WeChat users can now make online payments. The payment function can integrate bank accounts, be they debit or credit, with a customer's WeChat account, which will enable more than 300 million users to make purchases on several e-commerce platforms. Items can be scanned using a product's barcode, allowing the user to jump directly onto the e-commerce website selling the product and order it immediately. Tencent's move is seen as the latest counteroffensive against Alibaba Group, which said last Wednesday that it would block online sellers' access to WeChat, citing security reasons. Shoppers have instead been offered the option to log on to Alibaba's Taobao marketplace using their accounts on Sina Weibo, on the same day that Tencent released WeChat 5.0. The move is seen as an attempt to help advertise the products of some online vendors on Sina Weibo, and try to redirect potential shoppers from Sina Weibo to Taobao..

Source: People's Daily