E-Commerce Is So Huge Now in China, Some Brands Skip Opening an Actual Store
When British fashion retailer Topshop debuted in China, guests at the Beijing launch event tried on outfits and posed for selfies with red London buses or telephone booths as a backdrop. But the venue wasn’t a shop, and there were no checkout counters. To order, people scanned QR codes with their smartphones, turning an offline event into mobile commerce.
Topshop, a fixture in British high streets, launched on the mainland in late September through e-commerce alone, via the ShangPin.com online retail platform. Then came Costco’s announcement that it was debuting in China without any of its signature big-box stores, via Alibaba’s TMall marketplace, just in time for the e-commerce giant’s annual Nov. 11 sale that is bigger than Black Friday.
It has been common for small niche brands to launch online-only in China to reach the country’s growing middle class without massive risk. But e-commerce in China has gotten so huge that even big brands have to consider whether doing market entry with actual brick-and-mortar stores is worthwhile. Xiaomi, arguably the hottest local brand, developed into China’s top smartphone maker by selling its products online. Its offline stores came later.
