On May 28th, at the "JD's 618, Good and Affordable" conference, JD announced that this year's JD 618 will officially kick off on May 31st at 8 PM.
Rooted in User Experience, Focused on User Experience, Winning with User Experience
During the conference, JD Group CEO Xu Ran stated: Looking back, user experience is the starting point and endpoint of everything JD does; focusing on the present, enhancing user experience is the intrinsic driving force for growth; looking towards the future, the ultimate user experience is JD's eternal pursuit.
JD has always prioritized user experience. In just the past year, focusing on cost, efficiency, and experience, JD has undergone a series of proactive changes. Centered around "saving" and "variety," in March last year, JD launched a channel for billions in subsidies, which has now accumulated over a hundred million users; by introducing the "Spring Dawn Plan" to continue benefiting and supporting merchants, JD's third-party merchant count has surpassed a million, and the SKU count of third-party merchants has more than doubled since last year. Around "good" and "fast," in the past year, JD has not only lowered the free shipping threshold, introduced premium services like PLUS unlimited free shipping, but also expanded services like free doorstep returns and refunds to third-party merchants; JD's "211" express delivery service now covers hundreds of cities nationwide.
Currently, enhancing user experience is the intrinsic driving force for JD's growth, and a better user experience stems from the continuous optimization of cost and efficiency through a solid supply chain infrastructure. JD Group's first-quarter performance shows that by the end of the first quarter, JD's supply chain infrastructure assets reached 154.1 billion yuan, a 12% year-on-year increase, with inventory turnover days reaching a historical best of 29 days. A solid supply chain not only supports JD's own healthy growth but also helps numerous brands and merchants achieve healthy, high-quality growth. This JD 618, JD will help over 150,000 small and medium-sized merchants achieve over 50% sales growth, increase the number of merchants with sales over a million by over 100%, and assist over 80 brands in achieving sales over 1 billion.
Looking ahead, as the trend towards personalized consumer demands becomes more pronounced, "technology and service innovation" and "stimulating consumer demand" will form a virtuous cycle of development. JD's confidence in better meeting consumer's personalized needs comes from, on one hand, having around 600 million active purchasing users, over 20,000 JD customer service representatives, hundreds of thousands of JD delivery personnel, and JD's intelligent customer service being able to automate responses to 90% of service inquiries across all scenarios from pre-sales to after-sales. Through its unique business model, JD can communicate with users in real-time throughout the entire consumer cycle, being closest to the consumer; on the other hand, with its long-term dedication to the retail industry, JD has also accumulated billions of high-quality interaction data annually, a wealth of industry know-how, and technological capabilities and practices, making JD's technology the most industry-savvy.
JD Group CEO Xu Ran in Conversation with AI Digital Human
During the press conference, Xu Ran, together with his AI digital human counterpart, shared insights on consumer trends under personalization, and demonstrated on-site the practical applications of AI digital humans in retail scenarios, including live streaming for sales, intelligent shopping guides, and smart customer service functions. Xu Ran stated, "The future competition in the retail industry lies in the competition of the supply chain, as well as in technology and service. JD leverages a solid supply chain infrastructure as its cornerstone, driving digital integration with technologies such as AI. This will undoubtedly lead to broader development prospects in the future, stimulating consumer vitality and contributing greater value to the real economy."
Top 100 CEOs and CEO AI Digital Human Live Broadcast Offers Genuine 50% Discount
In recent years, focusing on user experience, JD has repeatedly led the industry in making changes. In 2021, JD introduced "8 p.m." for the first time during the 11.11 shopping festival, and in 2023, JD was the first to introduce "immediate availability" in the industry. Today, "8 p.m." and "immediate availability" have become standard practices for major industry promotions. This year, JD's 618 promotion started on May 31 at 8 p.m., bringing 618 back to June, allowing consumers to save money, time, and worry during the shopping process.
To bring consumers a "cheaper" shopping experience, this year's JD 618 not only offers billions in subsidies, cheap shipping, and a variety of low-priced goods, but also provides consumers with an extra 20 yuan subsidy every day. Additionally, JD 618 this year will introduce the "2 yuan free shipping day," offering millions of 2 yuan welfare products and many low-priced goods from industrial belts with free shipping. Furthermore, JD will collaborate with Hunan Satellite TV to create the "JD 618 Happy Night Event," offering consumers blockbuster physical benefits and billions in red envelopes.
During JD 618, JD's professional procurement team will continue to bring consumers low-priced goods through live broadcasts. Many brand presidents and "AI digital presidents" will also provide benefits to consumers through live streaming. The "President's Price" series of live broadcasts will invite hundreds of brand presidents to offer explosive products starting at 1 yuan. Leveraging JD Cloud's self-developed technology, this year's JD 618 will feature 18 brand president AI digital figures as "JD 618 Welfare Officials" appearing in JD's live broadcast, offering genuine 50% off discounts.
To provide consumers with a "better" shopping experience, this year's JD 618 will continue to offer over 200 basic services targeting consumer pain points, with more than 80 industry-first and unique services ensuring a seamless shopping experience. Over the past year, JD's price protection service has saved consumers nearly 3 billion yuan. During JD 618 this year, over 85% of products will enjoy price protection. Additionally, during JD 618, 97% of JD's self-operated products and 75% of third-party merchant stores will support "free returns and exchanges at home"; the newly upgraded "JD Instant Delivery" will also collaborate with over 500,000 physical stores to provide consumers with instant retail services delivered in as fast as 9 minutes. Moreover, over 20,000 JD customer service representatives will offer consumers 24/7 service.
JD Procurement collaborates with Olympic champion "Shining Exceptional Performance"
Behind the rich products, affordable prices, and worry-free services of JD 618 is a group of dedicated JD procurement professionals who have been working tirelessly to achieve these results.
At this press conference, several JD.com buyers and sellers showcased their unique skills, while also inviting Rio Olympic badminton men's singles champion Chen Long and Beijing Winter Olympics freestyle skiing women's aerial skills champion Xu Mengtao as guests. This crossover event brought together JD.com's pursuit of "more, faster, better, cheaper" with the Olympic champions' pursuit of "faster, higher, stronger, more united."
Chen Long, the men's singles badminton champion of the Rio Olympics (fourth from the left), and Xu Mengtao, the freestyle skiing aerials champion of the Beijing Winter Olympics (sixth from the left), together with representatives from JD.com, officially announced the start of JD.com's 618 event.
This year marks the 21st JD.com 618 event. Over the past 21 years, JD.com has done a lot, but it has also focused on one thing – constantly striving to enhance user experience. In the future, "customer first" will remain JD.com's top priority, the core of all JD.com's business logic, and the determination for JD.com to move forward for the next 20 years!
