Facing slowing e-commerce growth, Alibaba and JD.com are competing over merchant data services deals that promise seas of new shopper data in return for closer ties, reported Reuters.
Those deals have been enabled by a number of factors including widespread use of smartphone payments, facial recognition technology and a greater Chinese tolerance for data sharing among companies.
The two companies are facing saturated markets in China’s biggest cities, not to mention trade-war concerns and hotter competition. Data partnerships are giving them a route to diversification and potential new revenue.
For example, JD says it’s used data to help Kimberly-Clark diaper brand Huggies find out why Chinese rivals were gaining ground, prompting the company to switch to a new material that has boosted JD’s sales of the diapers.
Full Content: Reuters
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