Emma Lee on TechNode:
Short video app Kuaishou and e-commerce giant JD announced today a new partnership as the Chinese tech titans are gearing up for China’s biggest mid-year shopping extravaganza 618 on June 18.
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- Kuaishou’s closer relationship with JD comes a few months after a hiccup with Taobao Live, the Alibaba-backed livestream major that supports a similar referral feature.
- Livestream e-commerce, on the cusp of its boom, is expected to become a new driver for the upcoming shopping spree 618.
- The festival comes when the country is trying to boost domestic consumption to offset the economic slowdown resulted from the coronavirus outbreak.
- JD shareholder Tencent invested $2 billion in Kuaishou last year in Kuaishou’s $3 billion pre-IPO round, giving Kuaishou a valuation of around $28.6 billion.
618 is JD’s equivalent of Alibaba’s 11.11 Singles Day. It’ll be interesting to see how this alliance helps to boost JD’s revenue for this upcoming event on 18 June.
I’m also curious what angle JD will approach the live streaming given the brand’s strength as a reputable, verified ecommerce platform. Taobao is an open marketplace so you see many entrepreneurs and small businesses selling on Taobao, and they conduct their live streams as the shop owner. In contrast, JD stores are more brand flagship stores or authorised resellers.
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