Alibaba eyes new retail strategy and to integrate online and offline resources

Alibaba will spend several billions of yuan in the next few months on its new retail strategy and to integrate its online and offline resources after it acquired on-demand delivery platform Ele.me for US$9.5 billion in April.

The e-commerce giant intends to provide offline merchants, restaurants and food vendors with more resources for them to access potential consumers on its retail platform.

The acquisition of Shanghai-headquartered Ele.me offered a major step to Alibaba Group to expand local lifestyle services beyond its e-commerce ecosystem and to provide new shopper experience.

Alibaba plans to use its merchandising technology and the capability of Ele.me's delivery network Fengniao to help offline merchants access the massive online shopping population.

Users of Alibaba's retail site Taobao and payment affiliate Alipay will receive cash coupons that they can use to pay for using the e-commerce giant's on-demand services.

Competition in the on-demand delivery segment has been growing as Meituan Dianping filed for an initial public offering last month and mobility platform Didi Chuxing is also testing the water with its food delivery service in selected cities.