【Editor’s note】2016 was a year of explosive growth and continuous adjustments for cross-border e-commerce. Many platforms, including AliExpress, underwent upgrades and optimizations. AliExpress, in particular, made the transition from C2C to B2C and repositioned itself as a brand. These measures were aimed at improving the platform environment and leading more Chinese brands to go global.
The B2C era of AliExpress has officially arrived: Inviting 2,000 Tmall merchants to join
On March 1st, at the “2016 Tmall Global Merchant Conference,” Alibaba Group CEO Zhang Yong announced that starting from 2016, Tmall and AliExpress would work together to help 10,000 Tmall companies go global. They officially invited over 2,000 Tmall merchants who have the qualifications to enter the overseas market to join AliExpress. This move will enhance the branding and standardization level of the AliExpress platform.
Tmall is a comprehensive shopping website under the Alibaba Group. It integrates thousands of brand and product manufacturers to provide a platform for authentic branded products. With the support of Tmall merchants’ brand inventory, AliExpress aims to promote Chinese brands globally.
AliExpress raises the entry threshold: Only brands with corporate identity can join
Starting from early April 2016, AliExpress required all merchants to join as corporate entities and no longer allowed individual merchants to join. By the second half of 2016, merchants with corporate identity had to have a brand to join. This means that the future standard for merchant access will be two-fold: corporate identity and brand.
AliExpress General Manager Shen Difan believes that with the loss of advantages in exchange rates, labor, and the environment, China’s previous path of low-quality and low-priced foreign trade is no longer sustainable. In today’s international market, China has already developed brands that can compete with foreign manufacturers in many fields such as electronics, sports, and security. “We believe that in the next five years, China’s foreign trade will inevitably shift from OEM to relatively high-end self-owned brands. The change is determined by market competition, consumer demands for platforms, and changes in the overall market,” said Shen Difan.
Based on this judgment, AliExpress has upgraded in various aspects since early April, including: upgrading products and merchants, logistics, and services.
AliExpress fully implements product branding
Starting from April 12th, AliExpress fully implemented product branding. The “brand” required by AliExpress is: 1) an English registered trademark; 2) registered in China or overseas; 3) possessing a trademark registration certificate (referred to as R mark) or a trademark registration acceptance notice (referred to as TM mark); 4) products with only a Chinese registered trademark can still be listed until December 31st, 2016, but sellers are advised to register the corresponding English trademark as soon as possible.
In addition, products with approved English “trademark qualification applications” and completed “brand attributes” will receive: 1) more exposure opportunities and activity preferences; 2) direct search for the brand’s official store; 3) intellectual property protection.
AliExpress clears individual sellers on August 15th, achieving full branding
August 15th, 2016 was a significant day for AliExpress. From that day onwards, AliExpress completed the transition from a C2C platform to a B2C platform, and all sellers operating on the platform had to have a corporate identity.
The platform stated that after the clear-out on August 15th, AliExpress would refund the annual fees to individual sellers who had not provided services during the period. Starting from April 1st, 2016, new sellers had to have a corporate identity, and individual sellers (including individual industrial and commercial households) were no longer allowed to join. Additionally, category access requires an account with a corporate identity. Apart from corporate qualifications, brand qualifications may become another threshold for the AliExpress platform. In April 2016, AliExpress began gradually requiring sellers to have brand qualifications for the products they sell in various industries.
AliExpress App receives Google Play Editor’s Choice
On November 4th, AliExpress App was awarded Google Play Editor’s Choice. This accolade is the highest honor for an Android app and signifies that AliExpress App provides excellent user experience. It also means that AliExpress App will have long-term exposure and increase trust from global Android users, as well as enhance its influence in the Android app market and mobile internet industry.
Why does “Editor’s Choice” have such a significant impact? Google Play is an online app store developed by Google for Android devices, where Android users can find various applications. As an official app market, it certainly has related rankings. Users can easily find practical apps recommended by the rankings. Apps recommended by the rankings usually have higher exposure and a wider audience. Therefore, for every developer, highlighting their strengths and striving to be on the list is an important goal.
Economy-class logistics removed for Spain, Brazil, and Russia
On December 15th, 2016, AliExpress officially announced that efficient and stable logistics services with traceable information
