Chinese e-commerce giant Taobao, a staple for many shoppers in Macao, has finally launched an English-language interface for both Macao and Hong Kong users. The long-awaited shift enables non-Chinese speakers to bypass convoluted translation hacks when using the app.
However, you still have to navigate to the settings page in Chinese, in order to switch the default language. To do so, click the ‘account’ icon at the bottom far-right of your phone’s screen when logged into the Taobao app, and then the ‘settings’ icon at the top right. The 5th item down is the ‘country/region, language, currency’ section.
From there, click the ‘Macao, China’ option (third place on the list) or ‘Hong Kong, China’ (second place). Selecting either SAR as your region now lets you pick English as your preferred language. Notably, users based in the mainland and Taiwan do not currently have access to this feature.
[See more: You can now buy a ticket to outer space on Taobao]
With the English preference in place, Taobao users will see product descriptions, currency conversions, reviews, shipping information and more appear in the language.
The new interface is the latest development in Taobao’s push to expand in its non-mainland markets, the South China Morning Post reports. Other moves have included shipping various items for free to certain Asian locations and offering free returns.
Taobao saw a huge upswing in its Macao sales last year, with transaction values soaring fourfold between January and October, when compared to the same period in 2023. The platform appears open to selling most anything, from kitchenware and clothing, to romantic partners-for-rent and even tickets to outer space.
