Three big things are happening in digital China right now. The coronavirus is radically altering the behavior of hundreds of millions of consumers (and businesses), resulting in what is being called the quarantine economy. Everyone is trying to move from in-person to digital interactions. This shift to digital interactions is supercharging and rapidly evolving China’s […]
The coronavirus quarantine economy has supercharged the growth of live-streaming and KOLs (key opinion leaders) in China. Taobao Live, a live-streaming platform owned by Alibaba, has seen its user base and sales grow significantly in recent months. This trend is likely to continue as the Chinese economy reopens and consumers increasingly turn to digital channels for shopping and entertainment.
In previous Daily Updates, I presented 4 slides that showed the evolution of Alibaba as a powerful marketplace platform. A 3 Slide Summary of Alibaba and Marketplace Platform Strategy (Daily Update, Jeff’s Asia Tech Class) Alibaba and the Power of Externalizing Capabilities (Daily Update – Jeff’s Asia Tech Class) In the first one, I argued […]
Hi, I’ve been building out visual models of platform businesses for like 4 years. From Alibaba and JD to Google and MasterCard. The goal is to visually show the key interactions and sources of competitive strength. For simple marketplace platforms, like EBay, my pictures are pretty simple. But for companies like Alibaba and JD, they […]
When the SARS virus swept through China / Asia in 2002-2003, it resulted in millions of workers isolating themselves in their homes. And this phenomenon turned out to be pivotal for several, now dominant digital companies. For then small company Alibaba, it created a surge of activity in e-commerce. And for then physical-only retailer JD, […]
I attended the WeChat Open Class in Guangzhou and WeChat Work 3.0 was one of the big topics this year. There is a growing suite of digital tools for enterprise management, communication and collaboration. And they raise some fascinating strategy questions. It’s clear that enterprise tools in mobile-first China are going to evolve differently. These […]
In this class, I discuss my visit to JD’s new 50,000 sqm e-space in Chongqing – and the question of what new retail (i.e., online-merge-offline) will mean for department stores and shopping malls. You can listen here or at iTunes and Himalaya. Articles / podcasts cited in this class: JD’s E-Space Is a Fascinating New […]
Jeff Towson, a specialist in digital strategy, discusses the game-changing potential of JD’s E-space in China’s department store industry. With his rich insights, unravel the complexities of the digital transformation in retail and understand its implications for businesses across the globe. Don’t miss this comprehensive exploration of a significant shift in the retail sector.
This is Part 2 on my list of cool stuff JD is doing. Not necessarily the big initiatives – but the smaller and often more inventive ideas. In Part 1, I talked about their farming initiative, which is pretty intriguing. In this part, I look at their trash sorting program and how China’s smart cities […]
Jeffrey Towson discusses what Ofo could have done to avoid its downfall. He argues that Ofo made a number of strategic mistakes, including burning through too much cash, expanding too quickly, and failing to innovate. Towson believes that if Ofo had taken a more conservative approach, it might still be in business today.