Alibaba Group’s flagship retail platform Taobao will start shipping clothing items to buyers for free from next month – and is also offering gratis returns, Nikkei Asia reports. Macao shoppers will be part of the first wave eligible for the initiative, along with those in Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
The move, launching 3 August, is reportedly an attempt by Taobao to outcompete e-commerce rivals Temu and Shein (other fast-fashion sellers based in mainland China). An unnamed senior manager at Taobao told media that enabling free shipping and returns was “the most strategic change by Taobao this year”.
“Intense competition across various industries in China has resulted in low profit margins for businesses, so we are helping some of the top-notch merchants on Taobao to explore overseas markets,” they said.
[See more: Here’s how AI can make fast fashion more sustainable (and profitable)]
The free returns initiative was expected to be particularly popular, given the high rate of returns on orders made during live-streaming events, said the manager.
Returned items would be sent back to one of Taboo’s overseas warehouses rather than to the original vendor in China, making overseas sales less risky for sellers.
Alibaba’s other international e-commerce platforms, including Lazada and AliExpress, will also offer free shipping for clothing items to certain markets.
