Tmall Global registers triple digits in 2015 - report

The monetary value of 2015 transactions was not disclosed, according to an in-house compiled report from Tmall Global, Alibaba Group’s cross-border shopping platform. Growing demand for top foreign brands among Chinese consumers was reflected by high sales growth in product categories such as baby food and baby care, health and nutritional supplements and personal care products, according to the 2015 China Cross-Border Consumption Report from Tmall Global and CBN Data.

Cross-border shopping in recent years has been one of the fastest-growing segments of the ecommerce market, with China ranking as one of the top countries for cross-border activity. According to a PayPal study, conducted by Ipsos in October 2015, 36% of Internet users in China had made a cross-border purchase in the previous 12 months. Tmall Global has been positioning itself as a relatively low-cost way to enter the Chinese market. Foreign merchants do not need a Chinese business license to join the platform, which also offers retailers international logistics and China marketing solutions.

In 2015, the platform attracted a number of international retailers, among them US department store operator Macy’s, Japanese beauty products giant Shiseido Group, UK supermarket chain Sainbury’s, US infant care company Huggies, and Paris-based food-products multinational Danone. Some four out of five brands that debuted on Tmall Global in 2015 had not been available in China before. At the end of 2015, Tmall Global offered more than 5,400 international brands from 53 countries and regions.