The customer experience on Alibaba
Chinese internet giant Alibaba has raised $25bn (£15bn) in its share flotation, according to US media, making it the largest initial public offering (IPO) in history.’ reported by BBS news (http://www.bbc.com/news/business-29316074)
It was really impressive for Alibaba to make such decision. Alibaba definitely attract all the attention from investors from the stock market on 24th, Sep and many other companies had to delayed their listing date because of the enormous impact of Alibaba!
Alibaba Group is established by its 18 founders, led by Jack Ma and they first launched a China marketplace (currently known as 1688.com) for domestic wholesale trade in 1999. By now, Alibaba has 10 businesses (including major businesses and the businesses of related companies and affiliates)
People who love shopping online will definitely be familiar with Taobao, Tmall and alipay, which not only provides an excellent platform for the customers and suppliers but also guarantees the safest way to pay on the Internet.
Obviously, Alibaba really makes good use of the Internet; it seems caught every opportunity from the development of Internet. It goes ahead of its rival and expands the online services in good season. However, Instead of the technology part, Alibaba indeed continued improving and providing excellent shopping experience to customers.
To see the HISTORY AND MILESTONES of Alibaba–http://www.alibabagroup.com/en/about/history
Taobao is the first online shopping website Alibaba established at the very beginning. I started to shop online at the age of 15 and at that time, many people were still doubt the reliability and safety of shopping online. People always question that is it possible to complete transaction through the computer screen without face-to-face conversation? Many questions such as speed of delivery, quality of goods and the cost of delivery are inhibit Taobao attracting both suppliers and buyers. Fortunately, Jack Ma realized it and in 2008, the Taobao University program is launched, providing e-commerce training and education to buyers and sellers. I thought this highlights a “triple-win” situation: sellers acquire professional skills to gain customers→customers notice the advantages → Taobao gain the reputation.
I tried and the experience was not that bad. People can search the products outside their cities, provinces; giving much more opportunities to customers by just moving the mouse and clicking the bottom.
However, threats accompanied with the booming market of Taobao. Some dishonest seller use the weakness of online shopping, which results in online such as bad quality, unmatched Items, etc. Alibaba responded to those existing or potential threats immediately, taking actions to win back customers: customer’s commons, signs for refunding within seven days, joining Consumer Guarantees Act, the third party service, etc.
Later, Alibaba launched Taobao Mall (currently known as Tmall.com), “a dedicated platform for third-party brands and retailers, is introduced to complement Taobao Marketplace.” Suppliers who join Tmall should pay higher guaranty bond and the company should fit with the lists requirements in order to become a more trustworthy merchant. To put it simply, the requirements of setting an online shop in Tmall is much stricter than that of Taobao, so it would be more reliable to shop in Tmall.
Then, Alibaba continued to growth and paid attention to different customer segments. In 2010, introduced online group buying marketplace Juhuasuan, which targeted on price-sensitive buyers. It makes shopping easier—especially if sweetened with discounts—then those consumers might sign up to it. Latter in 2011, Jack Ma separated Taobao, Tmall and Juhuasuan into three independent platforms. Customers can now go to specifically three different websites to search for their desired goods, which make online shopping more easily for various customers.
Throughout Alibaba’s growing history, it is not surprised that this company can have such great impact on the market. Alibaba always be in the lead!