Tencent is a Chinese multinational conglomerate, which was founded in 1998 and has since grown to become one of the world’s largest technology businesses in social media, gaming and multimedia content. But the internet behemoth is most widely recognised for the messaging and mobile-payment platform WeChat, which boasts more than 1 billion monthly active users and is described as an integral part of daily life in China due to its widespread adoption by consumers and businesses alike. Tencent is often compared to Baidu, which operates China’s largest search engine, and Alibaba, which hosts the largest marketplace in the world. Tencent is mostly known in the West for its ownership of US video game developer Riot Games and its 40% share in Epic Games, which developed the global gaming phenomenon Fortnite.
The Chinese retail market is dominated by two heavyweights – Alibaba and JD.com. However, new players are reinventing retail space, exploring new opportunities and challenging the market shares of the two giants.
China’s digital journey has many learnings for retailers, whether they are seeking a share of Chinese spend or want a better understanding of how tech can reshape retail.
In the first of Retail Week’s series looking at the new forces in global retail, we look inside JD.com, the Chinese online giant that has 292 million customers, turns over £42.4bn a year and has the UK in its sights.
Google and JD.com have unveiled a strategic partnership to develop technology-fuelled tools across stores and the supply chain to create “a superior retail experience”.
Retailers are looking East, not West, for the future of retail. John Ryan goes to China to see the tech-enabled stores of ecommerce giants Alibaba and JD.com.
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