In this edition of Weekly Focus APAC: Alibaba Partners with Office Depot to Widen SMB Reach; Chope Targets Chinese Tourists with Food Delivery Partnership; Tmall Aims for 1,000 Stores with Cosmetic Brands; JD.Com Has Eye on Luxury Fashion Through Farfetch; and Indonesia Health Tech App Snags £49.19m in Series B. Alibaba Partners with Office Depot to Widen SMB Reach U.S. retail chain Office Depot has joined hands with Alibaba to broaden their online offerings for small and midsize businesses (SMBs). The alliance aims [...]

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In this edition of Weekly Focus APAC: Lazada Eyes SEA E-Supermart Growth with RedMart Integration; Alibaba’s Commerce Business Grows 40%; Singapore Launches Integrated Viewership Tracker; AirAsia Flies with AI-Powered Chatbot; and JD.com Takes Off with Drones in Indonesia. Lazada Eyes SEA E-Supermart Growth with RedMart Integration Lazada Group has unveiled plans to expand its supermarket business across Southeast Asia with the integration of e-grocer app, RedMart, into its online retail platform. From 15 March, RedMart customers in Singapore will have to purchase their [...]

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In this edition of Weekly Focus APAC: Mobile to Lead Online Retail in APAC Markets; APAC Firms Believe Customer Experience Still Not Integrated & Centralised; DBS Pilots QR ‘Angbaos’ for Chinese New Year; and Alibaba Expected to Grab 9.3% of Global Digital Ads. Mobile to Lead Online Retail in APAC Markets Mobile will lead online retail sales this year in Singapore and Hong Kong, as well as in Australia and India next year, as Asia-Pacific consumers increasingly turn to e-wallets. Mobile-commerce already is [...]

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In this edition of Weekly Focus APAC: China to Overtake U.S. in Retail Sales; Chinese Bring Out Mobile to Pay When Overseas; Traditional Banks Must Collaborate as More AU Consumers Tap Digital Payments; Grab & ZhongAn Form JV in Digital Insurance; and Argentinian Retail Agency Eyes Asia Expansion with Pixelsior. China to Overtake U.S. in Retail Sales The Chinese retail market is projected to overtake the U.S. this year, clocking a 7.5% growth to generate almost USD$5.64tn (£4.37tn) in total sales. In comparison, [...]

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In this edition of Weekly Focus APAC: Security Fear Drives APAC Retailers Away From Digital; Singapore Online Firms Find Globalisation Tougher Now; Alibaba Puts Genie in BMW Partnership; and Citi Partners with MoneyBack to Offer Retail Conversion Programme in HK. Security Fear Drives APAC Retailers Away From Digital Three out of five retail businesses in Asia-Pacific say concerns about cybersecurity have hindered the progress of their digital transformation initiatives. Their worries might be founded, as a cyberattack could cost an average of USD$18.7m [...]

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In this edition of Weekly Focus APAC: JD.com Sets Up Shop at Airport & Railway Station; Taobao Finds Gold in China Pet Retail Market; and Grab Ordered to Pay for Impact on Vietnam Competitor. JD.com Sets Up Shop at Airport & Railway Station The Chinese e-commerce giant has opened two stores at an airport and railway station in a bid to target travellers and showcase its latest retail technology. Its new pop-up store at the departure lounge of Beijing Capital International Airport’s Terminal [...]

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In this edition of Weekly Focus APAC: Alibaba Inks Cross-Border Deal with Russian Carrier; Singtel Digital Wallet Now on Apple Pay; 7-in-10 Singapore Travellers Clueless About Overseas Transaction Fees; and JD.com Unveils £791.16m Share Repurchase Scheme. Alibaba Inks Cross-Border Deal with Russian Carrier Volga-Dnepr Group has inked a deal with Alibaba Group’s logistics arm Cainiao Smart Logistics Network as part of efforts to strengthen its cross-border shipping capabilities and support increasing demand for faster delivery services. Under the agreement, the Russian air-freight [...]

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In this edition of Weekly Focus APAC: Singapore Pilots Locker Service to Support E-Commerce Growth; Starbucks Brews Up Virtual Store with Alibaba; JD.com & Intel Launch IoT Lab for Smart Retail; and Lazada Replaces CEO After 9 Months. Singapore Pilots Locker Service to Support E-Commerce Growth Singapore has launched a pilot for a last-mile delivery service that aims to offer parcel collection points in public spaces across the city-state. Called ‘Locker Alliance’, the service was introduced to support the growth of e-commerce [...]

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Alibaba Group has chalked up ¥213.5bn (£23.81bn) of gross merchandise volume (GMV) on its annual 11 November Singles Day Shopping Festival, crossing one billion in delivery orders for the first time this year. Also coined ‘11.11’, the event marked its 10th iteration this year, having started out in 2009 as an initiative to increase awareness of online shopping amongst Chinese consumers. Back then, 27 merchants participated in the shopping festivities. This year, more than 180,000 brands were on board, up from [...]

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In this edition of Weekly Focus APAC: Tencent Joins JV to Drive Grocery Retail Business in Chinese City; SEA Centennial Online Shoppers Will Abandon Cart if Preferred Payment Option Unavailable; JD.com Unveils Blockchain Research Lab with Two Partners; and Grab Partners Mastercard for Prepaid Cards. Tencent Joins JV to Drive Grocery Retail Business in Chinese City Tencent has banded with two retail groups, A.S. Watson Group and Yonghui, to form a joint venture aimed at creating “the largest grocery retail business” [...]

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