THREE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT ALIBABA IN 2016

As the e-commerce giant continues to expand in China and beyond, here are three things you need to know about it in 2016.

Globalisation

Cross-border imports: Tmall Global brings international brands that don't have presences in China to Chinese consumers. Costco, Macy's, Chemist Warehouse, LG Household & Health Care and Matsumoto Kiyoshi have storefronts on Tmall Global. Recently, Waitrose also started selling its products through Royal Mail's Tmall store. In Q1, Tmall Global's GMV grew over 180% year-over-year and Tmall will continue to build the cross-border platform.

International Expansion: Alibaba completed the acquisition of Lazada, a company that operates e-commerce platforms in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, with local language websites and mobile apps in each of the six markets. The acquisition will facilitate Alibaba's expansion into Southeast Asia, including potential cross-border opportunities introducing Chinese merchants and international brands to Southeast Asian consumers.

Mobile First

Mobile revenue from its China commerce retail business increased by 182% from 2015 to RMB50,337 million (USD7,674.6 mn) in fiscal year 2016, representing 63% of its China commerce retail business, compared to 30% in 2015. Mobile GMV (Gross Merchandise Volume) accounted for 73% of total GMV of its China retail marketplaces in Q1 2016 and mobile monthly active users reached 410 million by March 31, 2016.

With the increasing adoption of mobile devices as the primary method of accessing the marketplaces, mobile has become the focus for both marketing and sales.

Investing in logistics to serve rural China

Cainiao Network continues to expand same-day and next-day delivery services in urban areas while Rural Taobao service stations is covering over 14,000 villages as of the end of March 2016, providing purchasing and delivery services. As the demand from rural areas continues to increase, more infrastructure in supply chain will be put in to address the vast consumption needs.