Offline merchants need help adapting to digital age

Alibaba's offline lifestyle services unit will leverage both online and offline resources to help offline merchants adapt to the digital age through empowering them with data analysis and merchandising capabilities. 

The total number of offline merchants participating in the so-called "Double 12" festival, a shopping gala that falls on December 12, has grown to 2 million this year from only 20,000 five years ago. It’s another major move following the merger of Koubei and on-demand delivery platform Eleme, which Alibaba fully acquired last year. 

Food vendors including big names such as Starbucks, KFC, Pizza Hut and Burger King, as well as shopping malls like InTime and Joy City, will be a part of the sales campaign. 

Alibaba Vice President and Koubei Chief Executive Officer Fan Chi said at a media briefing in Hangzhou that it would use this opportunity to help offline merchants to adapt to the digital age by empowering them with data analysis and merchandising capabilities. 

Expanding business opportunities, extending service hours and raising operating efficiency will be the major issues Koubei seeks to resolve for offline merchants. 

The e-commerce giant's logistics affiliate Cainiao will also contribute in terms of dispatch capability. In eight cities including Shanghai, Chengdu, Xiamen and Shenzhen, Cainiao will be offering delivery services for fresh food, and consumers can get their food delivered on the same day for orders placed before 10am. 

They are hoping their online retailing and logistics facilities will lay the foundation for offline merchants to embrace new retail and upgrade their offerings to customers. 

But market watchers pointed out that Eleme and Koubei successfully combining their advantages to leverage their synergies would be the next challenge for the company.