Tmall and JD are two of the biggest e-commerce platforms in China, and they both offer a wide range of products and services to their customers. In this blog post, we will compare and contrast Tmall and JD in terms of their history, business models, customer base, and marketing strategies. And helping overseas company to decide use which platform to launch their online store in China.
Table of contents
- Brief Intro-Tmall & JD.com
- Business Model – Tmall & JD.com
- Logistics – Tmall & JD.com
- Tmall Global Store Vs JD Worldwide Store
- Cost to open Tmall Global store Vs JD Worldwide store
Brief Intro – Tmall & JD.com
Brief Intro – Tmall
Quick Snapshot – Tmall
Launched: Apr 2008
Owned by: Alibaba Group
Founder: Jack Ma
Language: Chinese
Brands: over 320,000
GMV: 4,034.5 billion RMB (2021)
Tmall(天猫), also known as Taobao Mall(淘宝商城), is an online retail platform launched by Alibaba Group in 2008. It is a spin-off of Alibaba’s Taobao marketplace, which is more focused on consumer-to-consumer (C2C) transactions. Tmall was designed to cater to the needs of larger brands and retailers who wanted to sell their products to a more upscale audience.
That said, Taobao is a C2C e-commerce platform while Tmall is a B2C e-commerce platform. Although Tmall was a spin-off of Taobao, but they share the same account. Which means users use Taobao account to login both Taobao and Tmall platform. Besides, Taobao share the traffic with Tmall, that is Tmall will get traffic from Taobao App or Taobao.com. But Tmall does not share traffic with Taobao. That’s very an important fact you need to know. (Tmall was built-in to Taobao App)
So when we talk about financial report of Tmall, like, revenue, total users, GMV, etc. Basically it refers to the combination of Taobao and Tmall.
Brief Intro – JD.com
Quick Snapshot – JD
Founded: 1998
Founder: Liu QiangDong
Headquarters: Beijing China
Active Customers: 588.3 million
Revenue: ¥ RMB 951.592 billion (2021)
JD, was founded in 1998 by Liu Qiangdong as a small electronics shop in Beijing. The company gradually expanded and started selling products online in 2004. JD has since become one of the largest e-commerce platforms in China, offering a wide range of products and services to its customers.
Business Model – Tmall & JD.com
Business Model – Tmall
Tmall operates on a business-to-consumer (B2C) model, which means that it allows large brands and retailers to set up virtual storefronts on its platform and sell their products directly to consumers. It charges these brands a commission on each transaction and also charges them for advertising and marketing services. Tmall also offers consumer-to-consumer (C2C) transactions through its Taobao marketplace, which allows individuals to sell products to other individuals.
When come to products category, Tmall platform offers a wider range of products comparing to JD platform.
Business Model – JD.com
JD, on the other hand, operates on a more traditional retail model, where JD purchases products from suppliers and sells them directly to consumers. it’s a business model that like supermarket that operates the whole thing for suppliers. This is called “京东自营”
Besides, it also provides the business model like Tmall. Allowing retailers to operate, design and sale on the platform. The retailer can choose the logistics by their own or choose the JD logistics.
JD offers a range of products, including electronics, apparel, and household goods, etc. In addition to its e-commerce platform, JD also operates brick-and-mortar stores in some cities. JD also offers financial services and logistics services to its customers, making it a one-stop-shop for all their retail needs.
Logistics – Tmall & JD.com
Logistics – Tmall
Tmall does not have their own logistics, it use third-party logistics which are not the fastest logistics in China. It all depends on you use which one logistics. Generally speaking, the shipment will take up to 2 to 3 days to deliver to the customers. If you choose SF Express as cooperation logistics then it’s fast enough.
Logistics – JD.com
One of the biggest advantage of JD is logistics. JD built their own logistics so that it helps JD deliver products in an incredible fast shipping speed. Generally speaking the customer will receive the product in 1 to 2 days. It provides the best shipping service in the world.
As an overseas company, which platform you should consider? Now let’s talk about Tmall global and JD Global.
Tmall Global Store Vs JD Worldwide Store
I know you’re struggling with considering to use Tmall Global or JD Worldwide? If you have enough budget, I recommend you open both Tmall Global store and JD Worldwide store. However, most small companies does not have enough budget to open both Tmall Global and JD Worldwide.
First of all, you need to know Tmall Global and JD Worldwide are only allows overseas companies to sell foreign-brand products only. Chinese Companies are forbid to launch store on there. Which is to make sure the high quality and trustworthy products selling on there.
Traffic – Tmall & JD.com
Before we talk about the traffic of Tmall and JD.COM, let’s take a look at the e-commerce environment between the giant company Tencent group and Alibaba group.
Tencent Group is so eager to share the China e-commerce market, however it does not succeed after so many times trying. So it use a new way to share the China e-commerce market. That is investment.
And Tencent competes with Alibaba. Once you know the history of Tencent and Alibaba. It all make sense to you when I’m talking about the traffic and payment of Tmall and JD.COM.
Tencent Group invested JD.COM
So JD.COM will gain traffic from Tencent Group’s products as Ads, like WeChat, QQ, Tencent news and Tencent video, etc.
Besides, JD.com launched Mini program store on WeChat. But WeChat forbid Tmall to launch mini program store on WeChat and the link share from Tmall are messy.
Although Chinese government announced them should not compete in this way. But I can’t see any big changes from Tencent so far.
As for Tmall, like I said before. Tmall is a spin-off of Taobao marketplace. So the biggest traffic that Tmall gain is from Taobao. (Taobao is the biggest C2C e-commerce platform in China).
To make sure customers have a good buying experience, the products from Tmall will always rank top on Taobao.
Payment – Tmall & JD.com
No matter Tmall global or JD Worldwide, customers can use Chinese Bank credit card or deposit card to purchase online. However, In China, We prefer to use third party online payment, WeChat Pay or Alipay.
Again, They’re competing with each other. Tmall use Alipay or Huabei as payment, while JD use WeChat Pay or JD pay as payment.
Customer Base – Tmall & JD.com
Tmall has a more upscale customer base, with a focus on higher-end products and brands. Its customers tend to be younger and more affluent, with a preference for international brands and products. Tmall has been successful in attracting luxury brands, such as Gucci and Burberry, to its platform. Tmall has also been successful in attracting international customers, particularly from Southeast Asia, who are interested in buying high-end products and brands.
JD, on the other hand, has a more diverse customer base, with a focus on providing value to its customers. Its customers tend to be more price-sensitive, and JD has a reputation for offering competitive prices and discounts. JD’s customer base is also more geographically diverse, with a strong presence in both urban and rural areas. JD has also been successful in attracting customers who are interested in buying authentic and high-quality products, particularly in categories such as electronics and household goods.
Cost to open Tmall Global store Vs JD Worldwide store
The cost to open a Tmall Global store and JD Worldwide store will vary depending on a number of factors such as the type of store, the size of the store, the level of service required, and product category.
In general, opening a Tmall Global store requires a deposit ranging from $10,000 to $25,000, depending on the type of store and the category of products being sold. In addition, Tmall charges an annual service fee ranging from $5,000 to $10,000, which varies depending on the level of service required, as well as a commission on sales, which ranges from 0.5% to 5% depending on the category of products being sold.
Opening a JD Worldwide store requires a deposit of $2,000 to $40,000, depending on the type of store and the category of products being sold. JD Worldwide also charges an annual service fee ranging from $500 to $1000, which varies depending on the level of service required, as well as a commission on sales, which ranges from 2% to 7% depending on the category of products being sold.
It’s important to note that these costs are subject to change and may vary depending on individual circumstances. Additionally, there may be additional costs associated with setting up and maintaining a store on these platforms, such as marketing and advertising expenses, logistics and fulfillment costs, and translation and localization expenses, among others.
You may need these:
Like I said, if you have enough budget, you can open both Tmall Global store and JD Worldwide store. If you don’t, you can open one of them depending on your product category and targeted audience.
Besides, the interest e-commerce is going viral in China in 2023. Yo may need to consider the social e-commerce platform like, Xiaohongshu (RED) and Douyin. You should not ignore the trending e-commerce model in China.
You may need these:
If you’re interested in Chinese e-commerce or Chinese social media marketing, I’m looking forward to hearing from you.
