Retail in Asia

In Trends

JD.com says China ready for ‘fourth retail revolution’

China’s second largest e-commerce firm JD.com said on Sunday that the domestic market is on the cusp of a “fourth retail revolution” where technology will drive money, product and data in the sector.

As JD.com turns 13 years old, Richard Liu Qiangdong, the chairman and chief executive of JD.com, said in a letter to his staff that the online juggernaut is set to play a key role in the next stage as a “retail infrastructure service provider” via the operation of tech-lead solutions to customers or start-of-the-art artificial intelligence.

Liu explained the company’s need to deploy more drones for deliveries. JD.com already uses some 40 drones for deliveries in four of the country’s 30 administrative divisions, but still wants that number to expand, especially in rural areas.

The company also has eyes for an open platform to share its retail infrastructure with community. Meanwhile, business functions are set to become market-focused to meet changing demands of its clients, he Liu said.

In terms of AI, an automatic checkout through facial recognition will be set-up, as well as technology such as smart refrigerators designed to automatically place orders once a customer’s food or drink is depleted.

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“It took a long time for people to accept us as a very successful retail company. I have no doubt that it will take time, but hopefully shorter, for them to accept JD.com as a very successful technology company, too,” Liu told the South China Morning Post.

The value of orders placed on JD.com has exceeded 110 billion yuan (US$16 billion) for the month to June 18. Its official Weibo site said sales in the first hour of June 18 itself were 2.5 times higher than a year earlier, without specifying the exact numbers, reported SCMP.

Last month, JD.com said first-quarter revenues lifted 41% for fiscal 2017, and reported a net income of 239 million yuan ($35 million) for the three months ended March — its first time in the black since listing in 2014. Sales rose 41 percent to 76.2 billion yuan, also topping the 73.6 billion yuan projected by analysts.