Alibaba Group’s Tmall Global has built a cross-border platform serving over 100 million customers in the last ten years.
The business has been at the center of a surge in cross-border e-commerce into China, helping brands from British beauty devices brand CurrentBody to Australian health products producer Blackmores reach China’s consumers.
As always, logistics plays a crucial role in e-commerce. Over 70% of Tmall Global’s cross-border goods are stocked in warehouses in China’s biggest cities, making next-day delivery possible for over half of its orders.
We look back at the major milestones from launch to running China’s largest platform for imported goods.
Early 2000s
The bad old days
Chinese consumers struggle to shop overseas, surfing websites written in a foreign language that accept only foreign credit cards. After making purchases, consumers must line up logistics to deliver parcels to China.
Shoppers resort to asking friends traveling abroad to buy coveted items on their behalf and carry them back in suitcases. Professional buyers, called daigou, flourish.
February, 2014
Enter Tmall Global
Tmall Global officially launches in February, 2014 after laying the groundwork in 2013. The platform starts with 100 overseas brands.
Its launch coincides with growing policy support for cross-border e-commerce. In 2014, the term “cross-border e-commerce” is included for the first time in a government work report. China pilots cross-border e-commerce retail import business in six cities, allowing shipments from bonded areas.
Tmall Global sets up bonded warehouses, helping overseas brands connect directly with Chinese consumers by shipping products before sale.
The biggest customers are mothers purchasing overseas-branded baby formula after food safety scares.
Japanese toilet seats are also hot items, as tourists balk at carrying hefty items home.
2016
Canada joins 18 other country pavilions on Tmall Global.
Policymakers clarify how they would supervise and tax cross-border retail imported goods, providing guidelines for the development of the industry.
Tmall Global introduces business procurement centers to facilitate direct engagement and collaboration with overseas suppliers.
2019
Kim Kardashian, the reality TV star and social media influencer, sells out of her name-sake brand KKW perfume in a few minutes during a livestream, drawing 13 million viewers for her Tmall Global debut.
Tmall Global launches the Tmall Global Influencer Ecosystem to train and support 2,000 mega-popular influencers.
U.S. singer-songwriter Billie Eilish launches a flagship store on Tmall Global, following other partnerships between Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Victoria Beckham and the platform.
New York’s Woodbury Common outlet mall livestreamed via Tmall Global to share 1,500 upmarket brands and over 100,000 outlet products on Black Friday, 2022.
Tmall Global announces it will incubate around 1,000 international brands over the next three years.
The road ahead
Tmall Global is investing in content and technology as it continues to evolve from an e-shelf into a global lifestyle expo.
To accomplish this transformation, it is working on strengthening engagement via short videos and livestreaming.
It is also exploring uses of AI, such as in generating product pages and fueling pricing engines.
Explore more Tmall Global content
Additional reporting by Elizabeth Utley
