Alibaba Group Holding's Tmall shopping platform saw the number of new brands surge by 239 per cent from August to September, as foreign merchants rushed to gain a foothold on China's largest online marketplace before the upcoming Singles' Day shopping festival.

In the third quarter, the number of brands that opened official stores on Tmall surged by 70 per cent from the previous quarter, with September the best-performing month, according to data from Taobao and Tmall Group, the domestic e-commerce unit of Alibaba, which also owns the South China Morning Post.

Tmall is Alibaba's premium online shopping platform that mainly hosts established brands. All Tmall stores are directly accessible from both Taobao and Tmall apps. The two platforms have a combined market share of over 50 per cent in China's e-commerce landscape, according to third-party research data.

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The surge in new stores comes as foreign brands, including Japanese toys based on the manga series Chiikawa, are rushing to debut on the platform in a bid to claim a spot in the world's second-largest consumer market. Since the start of this year, over 1,700 foreign brands have opened their first store on Tmall Global - the part of Tmall where consumers in China cab access direct imports - according to the Taobao and Tmall Group.

A cosplayer carries a costume of popular Japanese comic character Chiikawa at this year's Animation Comics & Games Expo in Hong Kong, July 27, 2024. Photo: Eugene Lee alt=A cosplayer carries a costume of popular Japanese comic character Chiikawa at this year's Animation Comics & Games Expo in Hong Kong, July 27, 2024. Photo: Eugene Lee>

Chiikawa, which has captivated many Chinese youth with its adorable characters over the past few months, opened its first Tmall store in late September, with products such as plush accessories and stuffed toys up for sale. The store reaped commercial success on its first day with some products selling out "within seconds", achieving over 5 million yuan (US$708,135) in sales on the day.

Taobao and Tmall Group has highlighted the broader category of "art toys" or "designer toys", which are often produced in limited editions in collaboration with artists, as an emerging product category experiencing "explosive growth". Over 20,000 new stores in this category were opened on Taobao and Tmall this year, according to its data.

The trend reflects how foreign brands continue to show interest in China despite the slow domestic economy and stagnant growth by major e-commerce platforms. Retail sales in China, a key gauge of domestic consumption, rose 2.1 per cent year on year in August, compared with 2.7 per cent in July, according to latest official data.

An ad for the Singles' Day shopping event seen in a subway station in Shanghai, China, Nov. 4, 2023. Photo: Bloomberg alt=An ad for the Singles' Day shopping event seen in a subway station in Shanghai, China, Nov. 4, 2023. Photo: Bloomberg>

The surge in new stores also comes ahead of Singles' Day, the world's largest online shopping festival which was initiated by Alibaba in 2009. The sales event now sees leading Chinese e-commerce platforms, from Alibaba and JD.com to newer players such as ByteDance's Douyin and PDD Holdings' Pinduoduo, engage in a battle to win consumers with steep discounts and promotions.

Alibaba, which has yet to announce dates for this year's event, has earmarked at least 40 billion yuan worth of resources to help merchants on Taobao and Tmall during the annual shopping extravaganza, as the e-commerce giant fights to protect its core business in an increasingly competitive market.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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