This story originally appeared on The Moodie Davitt Report, our content share partner. 

Online giant JD.com has opened two stores at Beijing Capital International Airport (BCIA) and Hohhot East Railway Station in Inner Mongolia, further expanding China’s largest retailer’s “Boundary-less Retail” strategy, designed to enable consumers to buy what they want, whenever and wherever they want.

JD.com has recently expanded its retail offering to convenience stores, supermarkets and partnerships with hotels, with airports and railway stations the latest channels to open.

A new pop-up store at BCIA Terminal 3 will run for three months, offering travel essentials, fashion accessories, beauty items, bags and suitcases.

‘Boundary-less Retail’: JD.com’s pop-up at Beijing Capital International uses the retailer’s “smart store” technology.

The store uses JD’s smart store technology to understand how customers interact with products as well as which products to offer them. The integrated JD Zu Chongzhi platform can analyze customer behavior and traffic flow, which will assist with product selection and inventory management, said the retailer.

“Beijing Capital International Airport is delighted to be hosting one of JD’s pop-up stores,” said a spokesperson from BCIA. “Outfitted with items popular among travelers, the new shop will not only offer the products they want to buy most on their journeys — it will also allow them to personally experience what shopping of the future will be like, brought to them by China’s largest and most innovative retailer.”

China Railway Express and JD have partnered at Hohhot East Railway Station to open a 100 sqm unmanned convenience store. It features facial recognition payment and smart vending machines, which process payments once customers select their products and close the door of the machines. Later, the store will use a mini-program in WeChat so that customers can choose to buy on the spot and take their purchases with them, or shop online and have them delivered.

JD.com has made a big push into railway retailing since 2014, with technology enabling “a seamless experience” for travelers.

JD Logistics and China Railway Express have had a logistics partnership since 2014 and have worked together to create the JD Luxury Express “white glove” delivery service as well as fresh food delivery via high-speed rail.

JD Social E-commerce and Retail Innovation General Manager Bing Zhang said: “Many of our customers enjoy shopping while traveling and we’re determined to make sure they benefit from the convenience of JD wherever they are.

“The new stores in Beijing and Inner Mongolia will provide them with a seamless experience that is unrivaled anywhere.”

JD.com also has ambitions beyond China. As reported last June, Google has invested $550 million in the powerful online retailer. The companies said they would partner on joint retail projects around the world, including southeast Asia, the USA and Europe.

Categories

Destinations