JD.com Breaks Records In Mid-year Shopping Spree

JD.com said it has achieved 127.5 billion yuan in orders between 0:00 of June 1 and 0:10 of June 18, a record high for the Chinese company during the so-called June 18 Shopping Festival -- the mid-year online shopping spree resembling the November 11 extravaganza.

More than 90 percent of orders placed on JD.com are now able to be delivered on the day or within the second day, thanks to JD.com's efficient logistics arm operated by the company directly, according to a Sina news report on Monday.

JD.com's results follow US technology giant Google announcing that it has signed a strategic partnership with the Chinese second-largest ecommerce firm with the aim to break into the Chinese retail market and optimise the retail ecosystem.

Google believes the Asia-Pacific region is one of the largest and fastest-growing ecommerce marketplaces in the world, with consumers from Southeast Asia alone expected to spend $88.1 billion online by 2025.

JD.com figures showed that the top five most popular items in terms of order value during the mid-year festival were mobile phones, computer and related goods, air conditioners, digital gadgets, and food and beverage.

A number of smartphones have seen huge growth in sales this year, with OnePlus' sales value surging 2.4 times this year, while Nokia, Lenovo, and Vivo's sales have also more than doubled. Due to the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2018 in Russia, sales and searches of large-screen 4K televisions, drinks and snacks, and football shirts have also surged, according to JD.com.

Alibaba, the largest Chinese ecommerce operator, also initiated an offline shopping spree from June 16 during the mid-year shopping spree as the company is pushing hard for the integration of online sales with traditional brick-and-mortar shops.

Alibaba's push for offline stores have driven sales of brick-and-mortar shops, which expanded by 109 percent on June 16, while transaction volume has also increased by 73 percent, said the report.

A consumer only spent 6 yuan to pay for clothes priced 1,099 yuan after deducting all the coupons and allowance she had received from Alibaba's Tmall.com, according to another Chinese report.

PREVIOUS AND RELATED COVERAGE

Google eyes billion-dollar Chinese market with $550m JD.com investment

The tech heavyweight has signed a 'strategic' partnership with the Chinese ecommerce company to cash in on a projected $88.1 billion online spend.

Alibaba, JD.com heat up offline-online competition in China

Country's two biggest e-commerce players are ramping up investments in physical assets and partnerships, as they look to meld offline and online technologies to transform retail experience.

China shuttered 128,000 sites during 2017 internet crackdown

China has been tightening controls over internet content and last year shut down 128,000 so-called harmful websites.

Qoo10 to 'renew focus' on Singapore e-commerce market

One of the earliest e-commerce market players in Singapore, Qoo10 is planning a new round of funding as it looks to refocus on the local market, which it says still offers significant growth potential.

How to stream the World Cup 2018 online

There are many ways to watch the World Cup. Here are some of the best.

The paranoid's guide to traveling to digitally scary places like Russia or China

If you're considering traveling to one of the many countries that has a dubious relationship with digital privacy, you'll need to protect yourself. While the standard advice is a VPN, ZDNet takes you deeper into the murky cloak and dagger world of digital tradecraft.

Infographic: How Amazon makes its billions with e-commerce, streaming services, and the cloud (TechRepublic)

As other retailers work to keep up, Amazon is predicted to grow through 2021, if not longer.