Weblog with daily updates of the news on a frugal, fair and beautiful China, from the perspective of internet entrepreneur, new media advisor and president of the China Speakers Bureau Fons Tuinstra
Sharon Gai, author of Ecommerce Reimagined: Retail and Ecommerce in China, started her career in Alibaba’s early days and now watches the e-commerce evolution in both China and the US. She discusses her career with Grace Shao, touching on AI, branding, and innovation.
Drastic changes have been influencing e-commerce and the position of global brands in this fast-moving industry in China. Marketing expert Ashley Dudarenokprovides an overview of the changes in the past few years on her website, Chozan.
Ashley Dudarenok:
China’s e-commerce sector is poised for a transformative shift by 2025, driven by advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), immersive shopping experiences, and a strategic pivot towards direct-to-consumer (DTC) models. These developments reshape the digital retail landscape, influence consumer behaviors, and redefine business strategies.
Immersive Retail and Predictive Infrastructure
While content remains king, China’s retail infrastructure is evolving to make digital shopping more tactile, immersive, and real-time. Shoppers can now try on lipstick shades using AR filters, tour 3D virtual stores during festivals, or interact with AI-powered assistants that mimic a live consultation.
At the same time, fulfillment and supply chains are becoming smarter and more responsive. AI is used to:
Predict product demand based on platform activity and livestream events
Sync inventory across online and offline systems
Enable same-day or under-one-hour delivery in top markets
Support real-time order routing and smart warehousing
Experimental platforms like Baidu’s XiRang and ByteDance’s Project Puff also explore the metaverse layer, where digital avatars browse virtual malls, try on clothes, and attend product launches in immersive environments.
The result is an intelligent,multi-channel, and frictionless retail stack. Shopping no longer begins with a search bar—it starts in a video feed, a private community, or a personalized app homepage. And it ends wherever the customer chooses: in a live stream, in-store, or with a package arriving in 20 minutes.
Paula Macaggi, the founder of OFFBounds, sets off for her first trip to Shanghai and questions e-commerce expert Sharon Gai, the author of Ecommerce Reimagined: Retail and Ecommerce in China on what she can expect on her journey. Key Takeaways: • The super app experience with WeChat • How China’s retail is about content and entertainment • Unique consumer behaviors and retail experiences only found in China • The rise of sustainable consumption in Chinese e-commerce.
E-commerce expert Sharon Gai explains how AI is helping her industry transform challenges into opportunities, speaking at Mike Allton’s podcast on strategic marketing with AI. Gai has extensive experience in China and uses her insights to help e-commerce stay competitive in a fast-changing industry.
Some e-commerce firms in China have profited from a rally of their stocks, triggered off by a major financial stimulus, but that might not help the economy to really improve, says financial analyst Shaun Rein at CNBC. It’s a rally of exuberance, he adds, and might only triple down into the economy in six to nine months. The real problem is for example companies cannot fire their staff very easily, and make their lives hard, hoping they will leave by themselves, he says.
Former Alibaba executive Sharon Gai explains how AI is changing the retail industry beyond recognition. Amazon was the pioneer in this field, although now nobody can ignore the change AI is causing globally.
Retail sees a fast-moving playing field, as data analysis, AI, AR, and an ongoing integration of online and offline developments. Hong Kong-based marketing expert Ashley Dudarenok dives into the future of retail at her updated website.
Ashley Dudarenok:
What is the future of retail and how is it evolving?
The future of retail is evolving towards a more integrated and personalized experience driven by advancements in technology like AI and omnichannel strategies.
What sets the Chinese market apart in the future of retail compared to others?
China’s retail market stands out due to its rapid adoption of innovative technologies like AI, mobile payments, and livestream shopping. This market’s agility in integrating these advancements has transformed consumer experiences, driving significant growth and setting new trends globally in the future of retail.
What can others learn from the future of retail in China?
Observing China’s effective integration of omnichannel strategies and innovative marketing techniques such as livestream shopping provides insights into adapting retail models to meet evolving consumer demands and preferences worldwide in the future of retail.
What trends are shaping the future of retail?
Key trends in the future of retail include the rise of omnichannel retail, AI and automation integration, personalized customer experiences, and the growth of e-commerce.
How is AI impacting the future of retail?
AI is enhancing the future of retail through predictive analytics, personalized recommendations, inventory management optimization, and customer service automation.
How leveraging data analytics help the future of retail?
Retailers use data analytics to understand consumer behavior, optimize pricing strategies, personalize marketing campaigns, and forecast demand, improving overall business performance in the future of retail.
What are the challenges facing brick-and-mortar retailers in the future of retail?
Retailers use data analytics to understand consumer behavior, optimize pricing strategies, personalize marketing campaigns, and forecast demand, improving overall business performance in the future of retail.
What are the emerging technologies transforming the future of retail?
Emerging technologies like augmented reality (AR) for virtual try-ons, the Internet of Things (IoT) for smart inventory management, and blockchain for supply chain transparency are revolutionizing operations in the future of retail.
What impact does globalization have on the future of retail?
Globalization expands market reach for retailers, influencing product diversity, international logistics, and cross-border e-commerce, shaping retail strategies worldwide in the future of retail.
How is consumer behavior evolving in the future of retail?
Consumers today prioritize convenience, personalized experiences, and ethical considerations, influencing how retailers innovate and adapt their strategies to meet evolving expectations in the future of retail.
E-commerce expert Sharon Gai started her career at Alibaba and now explains to the rest of the world how consumer platforms in China work differently from the West, and why also newcomers like Shein and Temu work differently. A discussion on Retail TouchPoint.
AI and e-commerce expert Sharon Gai discusses what companies can learn from their competitors in China at a conference in Europe. China explained for non-Chinese marketeers.
Temu, owned by Pinduoduo, is one of the leaders in online retail that has been ruffling international competitors in the past year. Business analyst Shaun Rein looks for the BBC at the firm’s international expansion. “They’re proud that Chinese companies can slay the e-commerce dragons from the United States like Amazon,” he adds.
BBC:
Temu is owned by Chinese giant Pinduoduo – “a monster in Chinese e-commerce,” according to Shaun Rein, founder of the China Market Research Group.
“Throughout China, everyone buys products on Pinduoduo, from speakers to t-shirts or socks,” he says.
The company consistently trades places with rival Alibaba for the top spot of most valuable Chinese firm listed on a US stock exchange. Its current worth sits at just under $150bn (£117bn).
With the Chinese consumer market under its spell, Pinduoduo expanded overseas with Temu, using the same model that had ensured its previous success. According to Mr Rein, who is based in Shanghai, the firm has become a great source of pride and patriotism.
“They’re proud that Chinese companies can slay the e-commerce dragons from the United States like Amazon,” he adds.
A quick scroll through the Temu app or website will bring up anything from steel-toecap trainers to a device designed to help the elderly and pregnant women put on socks. A menagerie of manufactured goods, almost entirely produced in factories in China, Mr Rein explains.
Sharon Gai is an e-commerce author, keynote speaker, and former head of global key accounts at online retail giant Alibaba.
She says the way retail apps are designed in China is “fundamentally very different” from businesses in the West, which tend to focus more on search functionality.
“So their primary goal is to get you into an app very quickly, and then out of the app very quickly as well,” Gai said.
“In China, shopping apps are oriented around discoverability — how long can we keep you inside the app, how long can we entertain you, [and] how many new brands or products or trends or styles can you discover?”
Gai also said China’s huge domestic ecommerce market — which recorded almost $3 trillion in sales last year — enables platforms like TEMU and Shein to find the best formula for attracting new customers.
But while Chinese apps have been able to adapt their models to dominate US, UK and Australian markets, Western apps are struggling to achieve the same success bringing their business to China.
Last week, corporate social media giant LinkedIn announced it was shutting down its China service, InCareer, after pulling its main platform from China in 2021.
According to Gai, what sets Chinese and Western apps apart is how fast they are able to respond to the market’s needs
She said at Alibaba, the team motto “changing the motor of the aeroplane, when you’re flying in the air” means moving fast to address the market.
Gai says it’s this speed that has allowed Chinese companies to adapt to Western markets and become the preferred platforms for shoppers worldwide.
Shein, Temu and TikTok have become winning platforms on the internet, and for a good reason, says e-commerce expert Sharon Gaiat the Rest of the World. “Globally you have an economic slowdown, so a lot of consumers are also spending less per platform,”
The Rest of the World:
When Temu launched in September 2022, it also drew people in with low prices. In February, it broadcast an ad during the Super Bowl encouraging viewers to “shop like a billionaire” and fill their virtual carts without having to worry about the cost. That weekend, Temu racked 426,000 app downloads in the U.S., according to digital analytics company Sensor Tower.
“Globally you have an economic slowdown, so a lot of consumers are also spending less per platform,” Sharon Gai, the former head of global key accounts at Alibaba and author of Ecommerce Reimagined, told Rest of World. “When there’s a low-cost e-commerce platform that’s emerged out of nowhere, they are obviously going to like it.”
“China’s rapid economic reinvention has been nothing short of miraculous, but that reinvention has faced criticism that the country is good at manufacturing but not at innovating,” said Ashley Dudarenok, founder of the China-focused digital consulting firm, ChoZan. “It’s clear that China has proven those critics wrong, and in Innovation Factory, we showcase how China has been able to jump into the digital age with less baggage with the game-changing mobile phone, do it at speed, and keep up the pace to get it where it is today.”
While brands are rightfully intrigued by the power of streamers in e-commerce, they cannot replace traditional influencers, says branding expert Ashley Dudarenok in Campaign Asia. “While there was a time when brands favoured streamers over traditional influencers, as they thought streamers can sell, these days they know better,” says Ashley Dudarenok,
Campaign Asia:
While livestreaming may have transformed online shopping in China (according to research firm eMarketer, it generated sales of US$480 billion in China last year that are likely to jump 30% this year) experts say that in reality, collaborating with live streamers is a bit hit and miss.
“While there was a time when brands favoured streamers over traditional influencers, as they thought streamers can sell, these days they know better,” says Ashley Dudarenok, founder of ChoZan 超赞 and Alarice. “No matter how big, small, professional the external livestreamer is, they rarely deliver a positive ROI. Anchors are expensive. They work great for awareness, first time purchase, campaigns—after which it’s up to a brand to leverage and stretch the afterglow.”…
“Competition for eyeballs is fierce, it’s increasingly challenging to stand out,” says Dudarenok. “This leads to constant pressure to come up with attention-grabbing stunts or strategies, which rarely aligns with genuine and authentic content creation.” In one such stunt, a young male Chinese live streamer recently died after he was seen drinking excessive amounts of alcohol on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok. The streamer who went by the username of ‘Brother Three Thousand’ was reported to have drank at least seven bottles of baijiu spirits during a live stream, and was found dead 12 hours after his broadcast, Chinese media reported. His death, which was widely discussed on China’s internet, has led to calls for stricter rules for the country’s expanding livestreaming sector.
“Regulation is another concern,” adds Dudarenok. “Without clear guidelines and regulations, it’s often the Wild West with unsafe products and services, patchy after-sales services, and more. As the live commerce landscape evolves and matures, influencers, brands, MCNs, agencies are working together to shape what ‘good looks like’ for the next 10 years.”…
While livestreaming superhosts like Austin Li and Viya remain popular in China, brands are increasingly building up their own live stream channels instead of paying individual live streamers 40% to 50% of the revenue. “Brands prefers KOEs = key opinions employees to run the shows eight hours a day vs external anchors,” says Dudarenok. “Plus virtual hosts can also be a great way to complement the real human anchor at peak times, and fully substitute them during slow hours.”
