China

As retailers strive to stay relevant and serve the needs of evolving customer demands, the recent Asia-Pacific Retailers Convention and Exhibition (APRCE) provided a platform to examine creative strategies to give customers an engaging shopping experience, as Muneerah Bee discovers.

Drawing on its e-commerce fulfilment expertise, Kuehne + Nagel recently partnered with JD.com, China’s largest retailer, to design a supply chain solution including quality control checks at origin.

Last week in Beijing, Diane Wang, the founder and CEO of business-to-business e-commerce website DHgate.com, teamed up with Kathleen Wynne, the first female premier of Ontario, Canada, for the benefit of women entrepreneurs globally.

Alibaba Group Holding announced that US$25.3 billion of gross merchandise volume (GMV) was settled through Alipay on November 11, 2017 (during the 11.11 Global Shopping Festival, also known as Singles' Day) -- an increase of 39% compared to 2016.

China is, more than ever, becoming a “mobile-first” country and consumers there are increasingly making purchases via mobile. Alexis Bonhomme, co-founder of digital and tech company CuriosityChina, shares with Muneerah Bee how China’s complete and competitive mobile eco-system is pushing m-commerce in the country.

As China’s economy continues to grow at a moderate pace, a survey finds urban consumers becoming more selective spenders in 2017 because of increased pressures at work and with their personal finances.

Global brand and marketing consultancy Prophet announced it has collaborated with Alimama, the marketing technology platform of Alibaba Group, to build a new model to transform brand building in China.

China’s food retailers have witnessed immense growth over the last few years. The major players have enjoyed fast-growing sales, thanks to the increasing number of middle class consumers with more purchasing power coupled with the rapid expansion of both domestic and international food retailers in the country.

SIAL China 2017 offered an immersive and international experience to exhibitors and professional visitors. Muneerah Bee shares a round-up of the event that leverages the food trade between Asia and the rest of world.

Global pipeline of development drops as retailers try to strike a balance between bricks-and-mortar and e-commerce strategies.

International property group Goodman Group secured a lease with Yunda Express, an express delivery and third party logistics services provider in China, at its Goodman Changzhou Logistics Centre recently.

When choosing where to buy imported products online, Chinese consumers rank proof of quality as the most important (68%), followed by ability to use third-party payment systems (44%).

Chinese millennials use digital tools to meet functional and emotional needs (such as food, expenditure and socialising) more prevalently than their U.S. counterparts, according to a survey by Labbrand.

Perfect Corp has announced that the Watsons flagship store in Shanghai has launched Consultation Mode from its successful virtual beauty app, YouCam Makeup.

On Jan 10, Alibaba Investment Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alibaba Group Holding Limited announced that Alibaba, together with an entity wholly-owned by Shen Guo Jun, founder of Intime Retail (Group) Company Limited, have requested the board of directors of Intime to put forward to shareholders a proposal to privatise the department store operator by way of a scheme of arrangement.

Ksubaka revealed that it has broken through the 5,000 barrier of installed playSpots across China. playSpots is a sophisticated realtime analytics platform providing campaign owners with deep data driven insight into activity results. These interactive kiosks connect with consumers at the physical point of purchase — for example, in stores by oering  fun mini games that take the consumer on a branded game journey. Key brand messages and information are played out through game play with rewards and hers redeemable once the session has been completed.