China's biggest E-commerce company Alibaba is fusing online shopping with good old-fashioned brick and mortar retailing.
Until now, Alibaba has been the most popular destination for online shopping in the world's fastest growing e-commerce market.
Since 80 percent of its merchants in online marketplace, selling imported products, don't have a physical presence in China, this innovative step is likely to take the sales figure of the company to the next level with its wide exposure to the open public.
Because Alibaba runs marketplaces and has a huge customer base, the amount of business that flows over its sites dwarfs that of other e-commerce companies. It will now venture into Offline shopping and will provide an experience to buyers yearning for physical presence of goods.
This Chinese e-commerce giant has opened a store in the North China Port City of Tianjin to lure buyers craving for imported products, and plans to expand further if it receives positive strokes. It has already made its mark as the largest e-commerce site, and besides being one of the most valuable tech company, it ranks as one of most valuable Chinese companies and growing at a fast speed.
There was a time when consumers would check out physical products offline, and then order the same Online, whereas this is all going to change now, atleast in China with consumers now checking out Online for the options and then heading to the physical store to get a richer experience in buying.
To expand the reach of the Offline store in Tianjin, Alibaba has chartered two train rides during peak hours each day between Beijing and the Tianjin FTZ. Those who take the train can browse product catalogs and place orders during the trip.
This positive step will also go a long way in creating Economic balance towards consumption, as Chinese tourists frequently go on shopping sprees when they travel to other countries.