Tmall - Get To Know China - Chinabuzz

What is Tmall? Tmall is the largest business to consumer (B2C) retail platform in Asia, enabling businesses to sell directly to Chinese consumers. ReturntositeReturntositeTmallChina'slargestonlineshoppingplatformWhatisTmall?Tmallisthelargestbusinesstoconsumer(B2C)retailplatforminAsia,enablingbusinessestoselldirectlytoChineseconsumers.Itwasfoundedin2008bytheAlibabagroupafterInternationalanddomesticbrandswerebecomingfrustratedathavingtoselltheirproductsalongsidemanycounterfeitmerchantsonTaobao,theChineseequivalenttoaeBay.TmallisdifferentfromTaobaointhatitisspecificallydesignedforbusinesseswithcertifiedbrandsandotherlegaldocumentation.Theenduseralsobenefits,becausewhentheybuyfromTmalltheycanbeconfidenttheyarebuyinggenuinegoodsfromthebranditself.Since2008,TmallhasgrownrapidlyanddependingonwhatsourceyoulookathasthelionshareofChina'se-commercemarketandispivotalinthesuccessof“singlesday”,whichhasbecomeChina'sshoppingholidayon11/11everyyear.Despitethissuccess,TmallisstillrelativelydifficulttolistonforsmalltomediumsizebrandsoutsideofChinaanditisalsoworthnoting,TmalldoesnotprovidefulfilmentlikeAmazondoesinthewest.ThisblogwillhopefullygiveyouandunderstandingofhowTmallworksandsomeoftheoptionstogetyourproductslisted.CorefunctionsTmallhascomprehensivemobileanddesktopversions.Areported82%ofusersprefertoshoponmobilesothescreenshotsbelowarefromthemobileversion.HomeInspirationActivityCentreShoppingBasketAccount1.HomeThehomescreenoftheTmallappisrelativelyclean.ThetopleftandrightcornershaveshortcutstoMobilepayments.Thetopleftgivingyoutheoptiontoscanatmerchant’sQRcode,whilethetoprightallowsyoutopresentyourQRcodetothemerchant.Below,asearchbarsimilartowhatyoufindonAmazon’shomepage.However,atthefarrightthereisasmallcameraiconwhichenablesyoutouseyourcameratoidentifytheproductyou'relookingfor.Slightlylowerdownyou'llseeaselectionofcirculariconswhichcontainshortcutstootherAlibabaservicesandpartners,includingSuning,TmallSupermarket,FoodDelivery(elema)andTmallGlobalwhichwewillcometolater.Asyoucontinuedownthepage,youaregreetedbyamixtureofadvertisements,recommendedproductsandspecialoffersallofwhichisfairlystandardforane-commercewebsite.2.InspirationSecondtabfromtheleftwhichlookslikeplantabouttogrowtakesyoutoasectiondesignedtoletusersinteractwithcelebritiesandfollowshoppinginfluencerssotheycankeepupwithlatesttrends.ThissectionisorganisedinasimilarwaytootherChineseappswithasocialfunction.Youcanseethetrendingpostsonthehomescreen.Onceyouenterposttheimagemayhavetagswhichtakesyoustraighttotheproduct,youcanalsoscrolltothebottomtoseealltheproductsmentionedinthearticle.It'snotalwaysaboutmakingadirectsales,influencerswillalsousetheirpoststogivevalueandadvicetotheirfans.3.ActivityCentreThissectionaccessibleviathemiddlebuttoninthebottombariswherethelatestpromotionactivitiestakeplaceonTmall.Byvisitingthispage,userscanfindoutwhatproductshaveadailydeal,informationaboutotherupcomingpromotionsandthereisalsotheoptiontofiltertheresultsforaspecificproductcategory.4.ShoppingBasketTheshoppingbasketisafairlystandardfunctionwhereuserscanchangetheirselectionswithoutneedingtogetbacktotheproductpageandpayforselecteditems.Thismeansusersdonothavetoremoveanitemfromthebasketiftheyhaven'tquitemadeuptheirmind.Forshopperswhoputalotintheirbasket,youcanalsofilteryourbasketbybrand.Belowthebasketarea,Tmalltaketheopportunitytorecommendproductstheythinkyouwilllike.5.AccountAswithmostaccountsections,thisareacontainslinkstoandnumberofhighlyusefulfunctions.Heyyoucanaccessyoursaveditems,whichshopsyoufollowing,yourbrowsinghistoryandhowmanyredenvelopecarddiscountsyouhave.Belowthereisasectionspecificallyfordealingwithorderswhichincludesordersawaitingpayments,awaitingdispatch,goodsintransit,awaitingreview,returnsandanoptiontoseethefullselectionordermanagementtools.TheremainderofthepagecontainslinkstoaccessTmallandAlibaba’sotherservicesfromphonetopupstoflightsandtraintickets.GettingYourBusinessonTmallAfterseeingthesimpleyetpowerfulfunctionalityofTmall,youmaybewonderinghowyoucangetyourproductsonTmall.ThisiswhereTmallbecomesalittlecomplexandexpensive.Wewilldobesttosummarise,howeverwestronglyrecommendtalkingtoaprofessionalifthisissomethingyouarelookingtodo.TmallvsTmallGlobalTmallhavetwoplatforms:tmall.com-TheoriginalTmallplatformbuiltforChinesecustomersandbrands operatinginChinatouse. tmall.hkwhichiscommonlyknownasTmallGlobal.Forallintentsandpurposesthisisaseparateplatformtotmall.com,andwouldjustifyablogpostinitsownright.TmalluserscanaccessitviathehomepageofTmallbothondesktopandtheapp.Noteontheappwheremajorityofcustomersshop,TmallGloballoadssimilartoabrowserandinourexperiencethismakesitmuchslowerthantmall.com. GettingonTmallAccordingtoTmall’sownwebsite,inordertogetonTmallyourbusinessshould:HavebeenoperatinginChinaforoverthreeyearsorhavesufficientexpendituretogaintractionintheChinesemarket. YourBusinessoperationsandstockshouldbothbelocatedinmainlandChinaAlthoughnotspecified,youmayalsoneedaChinesetrademarkforyourbrandorproducts.CostsofTmallThefeestructureofTmallvariesdependingonyourproductcategory.Howeverherearesomeroughguidelines.DepositWhenyoufirstsignupyouwillhaveadepositbetween50000-300000RMBfrozenonyourbusinessAlipayaccount,whichwillbeusedascollateralinthecaseTmallincursdamages.Thisdepositisreturnedonterminationoftheserviceagreement.AnnualTechnologyandServiceFeeThereisanannualfeeofeither30000RMBor60000RMBdependingontheproductcategory.InordertopromoteQualityservice,TmallWillrefundtheannualfeebyeither50%or100%dependingonthesellerratingandannualsales.Inanycasethesellerratingshouldneverfallbelow4.6.CustomerLoyaltyProgram0.5%istakenfromeachtransactionwhichisthenusedbyTmalltorewardcustomersinfuturepromotions.CommissionFinally,thereisacommissionfeeoneachtransactiondependingonyourproductcategorybetween0.5%-5%.YoumayalsoincurchargesfromyourAlipayaccountwhichallTmallusersarerequiredtouse.GettingonTmallGlobalAccordingtoTmall’sownwebsite,inordertogetonTmallglobalyourbusinessshould:EnsurestockislocatedoutsideofmainlandChina. PresenceinmainlandChinabetween0to2yearsCostsofTmallGlobalDepositWhenyoufirstsignupyouwillhaveadepositbetween25000USDfrozenonyourGlobalAlipayaccount,whichwillbeusedascollateralinthecaseTmallGlobalincursdamages.Thisdepositisreturnedonterminationoftheserviceagreement.TechnologyandServiceFeesDependingonyourproductcategory,you'llneedtopayatechnologyandservicefeebetween$5000and$10,000.UnlikeTmallwheretheTechnologyandservicefeeisrefundedbyeither50%or100%,thefeeisnotrefundedonTmallGlobal.CommissionFinally,thereisacommissionfeeoneachtransactiondependingonyourproductcategorybetween0.5%-5%.AlipayTransactionFeeAlipaychargesof1%servicefeeonallTmallGlobaltransactions.Thisistakenfromtheproductpriceandlogisticsfee.ChinabuzzVerdictDespiteAlibaba'smissionstatement"tomakebusinesseasytodoanywhere",itissurprisingTmallisstillsodifficultforforeignbrandstoliston.Whilstthefeesaresmallchangeforbigcompanies,forthemajorityofsmalltomediumsizedbusinessesitrepresentsahugebarriertoentry,nottomentionthetimetoprocessallthepaperwork.Ifyoumanagetoopenyourstall,thebattlehasonlyjustbegunasyouwillneedtofindawaytogettraffictoit.ThereforedespitebeingthemostpopularE-commercechannelinChinawithanumberofadvantages,youshouldnotexpectTmalltobeaneasyoption.Ifyougoforit,youshouldtreatitlikeaninvestmentwhichmayresultinlosses.Haveaplanandbudgetformarketingandacleartimeframeforexpectedresults.DownloadTmallFactsheetPreviousCtripNextWeibo ReturntositeSubmitCancelAllPosts×Almostdone…Wejustsentyouanemail. Pleaseclickthelinkintheemailtoconfirmyoursubscription!OK