Including over 1 billion products, Taobao is the largest e-commerce in China. Let’s find out how Jack Ma’s e-commerce works, Taobao in China.

Ecommerce in China is a constantly growing market and according to Statista.com in 2022 it reached the value of over 2,800 billion dollars and one of the main players in the e-commerce sector is Jack Ma thanks to its Taobao and Tmall platforms.

What is Taobao the Jack Ma’s E-commerce?

Jack Ma’s ecommerce: Taobao (淘 宝), which in Chinese means “in search of treasures”, is a Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C) and Business-to-Consumer (B2C) e-commerce marketplace launched in 2003 and owned by the Alibaba Group which offers a platform for individuals and small business owners to sell their products through real “online stores”.

How does TaoBao work?

Taobao consists of virtual shops where the seller sells products and/or services. Sellers on Taobao can list products and services and sell at fixed prices or through auctions. Most products consist of a wide range of goods sold at fixed prices (similar to traditional retail stores). They are highly important for concluding the sale, rating and reviews of the products and sellers themselves.

Jack Ma is the founder of TaoBao e-commerce

Jack Ma said: “When I created Taobao, I built something unique, but very few people understood it. When I talked about my project, it was often compared to eBay. Actually, it is not at all. When you use Taobao for the first time it’s a magical experience, an extremely powerful platform, and most importantly, it’s a revolutionary way to shop and interface with merchants. ”

The role of comments and reviews in Taobao

On most online shopping sites, customer feedback and reviews are a great reference source before making a purchase decision.

The quality of the product is rated by the previous buyers who received the item and the system uses stars and a rating of 1 to 5 to indicate the quality of the product; so if that product is rated with 5, it can be assumed that it is of quality.

However, if there are no reviews for that particular product, you can check the overall seller feedback by clicking on the seller rating (heart, diamond or crown). Scrolling down, you will see the feedback provided by the people who purchased one of the seller’s items, offering an idea of the seller’s reliability.

What are the differences between Taobao and Tmall owned by Jack Ma

You probably already know that Alibaba owns both Tmall and Taobao, but how exactly are these platforms differ from each other?

Anyone can open a Taobao shop and start selling online and having only a bank account, while only verified brands and retailers can sell on Tmall and this involves a rigorous screening process.

For consumers, Tmall and Taobao are considered together, because the consumer’s purchase journey begins within the same “Taobao” app.

Once you open the app and search for the desired product, you will find hundreds of results and in most cases, the main results are those marked in red that are part of Tmall. In fact, on Alibaba, he prioritizes the products sold on Tmall because they are verified and certified, unlike Taobao.

We can therefore deduce that by opening a store on Tmall you will have greater visibility in terms of results. This does not mean that selling through Taobao is ineffective, but your products will simply appear in the background.

Long Advisory digital marketing agency in China

Long Advisory supports American and European companies in China through digital marketing. In fact, our experience has led us to believe that today, the best and most convenient approach to make your brand well-known in China is through a digital approach. Furthermore, thanks to our know-how we know how to make your brand known to potential Chinese consumers. With the effective coordination of Long Advisory, your company will see a new rise in the largest market in the world: China.

Long Advisory is a digital marketing agency specializing in developing digital marketing solutions tailored for the Chinese market. 

Interested in expanding your brand in China? Contact us for more info and details at info@longadvisory.eu

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