I recently went to the WeChat Open Talk meeting and founder Allen Zhang raised some questions that have really stuck with me. He talked about about the increasingly important role of information flows in daily life and who controls this. His talk is here but my basic take-away is the below question. How do you […]
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 […]
Three important things have happened in consumer China in the past decade. Chinese consumers finally started spending money after decades of working and saving. They are now the first or second largest market in the world for most consumer businesses. They became connected 24/7 via smartphones, both to businesses and to each other. Their behavior […]
In my online Asia Tech Class, I talk a lot about digital superpowers, which are digital tools that upend established business. And one of these superpowers a dramatically improved user experience, such that the traditional offering is now unacceptable to users. And this sort of dramatically improved user experience is what is happening in luxury […]
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, […]
In Part 1, I detailed my visit to JD’s new E-Space store in Chongqing. And I ended by posing the following question: Can “experiential” retail dramatically improve the user experience such that traditionally run department stores are at a competitive disadvantage? And my answer to that is yes in basically 6 situations and product types. […]
I’m on a flight home from a visit to JD’s new E-Space in Chongqing. It was quite cool and I’ve been mulling over its implications – for new retail, for ecommerce and for online-merge-offline in China. Here is my current thinking. But first…consider joining my executive education course Jeff’s Asia Tech Class for deeper insights […]
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 […]
It’s Singles’ Day 2019! Woooohooooo!!! I am doing a little dance here in my hotel in Hangzhou. I look ridiculous. Singles’ Day launched at midnight last night and I was at the media center in Hangzhou for the opening (see above photo). And I spent yesterday with the Alibaba team getting a bit of a […]
This is Part 2 of my questions for Alibaba on Singles’ Day 2019. I’m on my way to Hangzhou shortly and am gonna try and figure these out. Part 1 is located here. Question 5: What is the next wave of hard-to-replicate physical assets? Alibaba is a competitive fortress. This comes from multiple factors like […]