Ecommerce is a huge thing in China, and in this article we will introduce to you Tmall, one of the country’s largest Ecommerce platforms. 

History of TMall

Tmall actually started as Taobao Mall. Established in 2008, it was initially conceptualized as a dedicated business-to-consumer (BC2) platform within Taobao’s Ecommerce website. At that time, Taobao was a separate platform that operates as a consumer-to-consumer (C2C) online retail. 

It was only two years later, or in 2010, when things started to shake for TMall.

Dropping its former name Taobao Mall, developers from Alibaba rechristened it as Tmall after launching an independent web domain tmall.com. The move, in turn, highlighted the Ecommerce platform’s  partner brands and merchants. 

Then in 2011, Alibaba CEO and Alibaba Group Chairman Jack Ma unveiled a major restructuring of their Taobao brand. The Chinese Ecommerce giant reestablished Tmall as an independent business unit.

As a result, Tmall became a separate entity from Taobao, which was renamed as Taobao Marketplace, and eTao. Taobao Marketplace remains as Alibaba’s C2C platform. eTao, on the other hand, is their native shopping search engine. 

Tmall’s Legacy

Aside from one of the biggest names when it comes to Ecommerce in China, Tmall is also credited for starting an all-new, mega-sales day trend. And it would eventually surpass the Black Friday and Cyber Monday of the United States. 

Singles Day, or more popularly known as 11.11, is an unofficial holiday in China meant for bachelors and bachelorettes. But Tmall reimagined how consumers would be celebrating this event by introducing a 24-hour shopping festival filled with huge discounts and special pricing.

Up to this day, 11.11 is still the world’s biggest online shopping event. It rakes in millions – if not, billions – of sales ever year. 

Curious to find out more about what opportunities are in store for brands planning to expand to China? Read our previous articles by clicking the links below. 

• Expand Your Reach in China: Why Advertise on TouTiao?
• ICONSIAM Banks on WeChat Ads to Promote Cross Border Ecommerce
• PHRAYA Expands Brand Presence to China through Weibo

Why Brands Should Pay Attention to TMall?

Brands looking to make their first step into China’s lucrative market should consider venturing into Ecommerce. And Tmall could be your first step towards the right direction. 

Read on as we explain to you what are some of the benefits you can get from leveraging Tmall. 

1. Reaching Out to Millions of Chinese Consumers

Opening up your online store on Tmall also meant reaching out to millions of Chinese consumers using the app to search for brands and products. As of 2020, there are over 710 million monthly active users of Tmall

2. Augment Your Brand Awareness Efforts

Brands also leverage Tmall not only to boost website traffic, sales, and expand their presence. But also in order to augment their existing digital marketing initiatives. International brands, in particular, choose Tmall to as their primary channel in introducing themselves to millions of potential buyers. 

3. Tmall Continues to Grow 

As of 2020, Tmall remains the leader in China’s Ecommerce industry. And it continues to grow and expand. 

According to market research firm Statista, around 63% of online transactions and goods in China’s Ecommerce in 2020 were made in Tmall. Furthermore, its gross merchandise volume (GMV) in 2020 was valued at approximately 3.2 trillion yuan. It’s a 6 billion increase compared to the 2.6 trillion yuan made in 2019. 

Partner with Digital 38 for Tmall 

And if you’re still unsure on how to get started on Tmall, don’t worry. We’ve got you covered. Here in Digital 38, our team of Ecommerce specialists can lend you a helping hand to guide you towards the right direction. 

Contact us today to learn more.