What Are Alibaba's Advantages Over Amazon?
By Rose Salas
随着行业巨头阿里巴巴和亚马逊纷纷成立新公司并大举收购，东南亚电商市场的竞争正逐渐升温，该地区预计将成为在线零售商的下一个高增长地区。在中国和美国，阿里巴巴和亚马逊分别拥有80%和60%的在线购物市场份额，眼下它们在人口超过6亿的东南亚市场展开了决战。亚马逊在去年7月正式进入东南亚，在新加坡推出了两小时送达服务Prime Now。此前，新加坡用户只能在亚马逊网站购买部分商品，还要承担高昂的国际运费。8月18日，阿里巴巴宣布将领投印尼最大电商平台Tokopedia的新一轮融资，资金高达11亿美元。这是继Lazada之后，阿里巴巴在东南亚市场的又一大战略点。这次融资意味着，整个印尼乃至东南亚的电商市场将为阿里及其背后的商家、消费者们“放行”，阿里全球布局又往前进了一大步。
其实，阿里巴巴和亚马逊的东南亚之战早已开始。早在2014年，菜鸟就以2.49亿美元的价格收购了新加坡邮政；天猫在马来西亚和新加坡开通了“Taobao Collection”站点、物流、仓储、配送，与当地的互联网商业基础设施连在了一起。2016年4月，阿里巴巴投资10亿美元投资东南亚电商平台Lazada；6月28日，阿里巴巴宣布再拿出10亿美元投资Lazada，对Lazada的持股从51%增长到近83%。东南亚电商市场目前仍处于初级阶段，增长潜力巨大，所以阿里想将其作为全球化道路上第一个深耕的海外目标。据悉，Lazada目前已经覆盖了泰国、越南、马来西亚、菲律宾和印度尼西亚等地区，这番追投并不让人意外。8月17日，阿里巴巴发布2018财年第一季度财报，阿里巴巴第一季度收入达到501.84亿元，受益于东南亚电商平台Lazada以及全球速卖通的强劲增长，阿里巴巴国际零售业务季度收入达26.38亿元，同比增长136%。
随着新零售的日益发展以及阿里全球化的战略布局逐渐明晰，阿里巴巴股价不断上涨，目前市值已达4200亿美元左右，进一步逼近亚马逊（目前市值为4650亿美元）。如果阿里巴巴集团的商业版图继续扩大下去，阿里巴巴的市值可能很快就能超过亚马逊，拿到全球市值最高在线零售商的头衔。
Both giants in the world of E-commerce are in constant battle for international expansion. The rivalry is so fierce that they have to keep an eye on each other and see how one can innovate more to reach billions of sales.
The two companies go head to head in competition as they dominate the online shopping experience of their audience. While the two are planning to dominate Southeast Asia, they’re both shifting towards innovative ways to resolve cultural nuances, particularly in countries made up of islands like the Philippines and Indonesia.
As per the infographic made by ParcelHero, Alibaba’s Singles Day and Amazon’s Cyber Monday generate billions of sales for millions of orders placed on a single day. Alibaba delivers more packages than Amazon, but Amazon is larger by revenue. Each company has its own advantage as per their respective territories.
But - what are Alibaba’s advantages over Amazon?
• Large Customer Base
China has 1.4 Billion people while Amazon has 320 Million customers. Alibaba ships 12 Million packages a day while Amazon ships 3 Million.
• Acquisition
Aside from the mobile wallet Alipay, Jack Ma made some investments in Singapore’s M-Daq and Thailand’s Ascend Money to lessen cross-border transaction fee. It also built an empire in LAZADA for selling wide range of products and operating in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Even the largest investors are selling their shares to Alibaba.
Through these acquisitions, Alibaba is has a big advantage in Southeast Asia campaigns. The potential is so huge in expanding overseas because of the usage spike in smartphones and online shopping craze. Being a mobile-driven consumer market, Alibaba’s unique platform will be a success provided they improve on the delivery experience.
• Funding and Investing in Paytm of India
In an attempt to compete with Flipkart and Amazon, Alibaba invested up to $200 Million so Paytm can push its ecommerce business. This newly launched Paytm mall is like Tmall with over 68 million products to be sold in electronics, home furnishings, fashion, and other consumer-related products. This move will allow Alibaba to take control in the site and app. Their commitment to India in funding this ecommerce store will possibly cause Amazon to tumble as the partnership is likely to help Alibaba on its way to the top.
• Alibaba’s Goal to Help Small Businesses
What makes Alibaba’s platform appealing to retailers is what Jack Ma said, “… we want to help small businesses grow by solving their problems through Internet technology. We fight for the little guy.” With this, more and more retailers are putting up their small businesses into Alibaba’s platform. The service fees are way less than Amazon according to online sellers. Being a marketplace that connects sellers with suppliers, and sellers with buyers, the potential for growth is high.
• Fast Middle-Class Growth
This has become a great advantage for Alibaba. Investors are seeing the middle-class growth as a big factor why the Chinese giant is catching up. The middle class has become the largest sales contributor of the ecommerce business.
Every year, there are predictions and trends that would determine how Alibaba can rise to the top. The commitment to do more research and development to adapt to the current innovation will get them closer to the finish line. Cloud computing for example has reached new heights for the ecommerce business. Alibaba Cloud is also dedicated in becoming a leading global cloud services provider.
The top factors in online business - such as active buyers, market sales and value, traffic and branding should be carefully watched. Investors are always fascinated and eager to see who’s going to lead this ecommerce war. Consumers always look for new offerings, quality products and best customer experience. And Alibaba is already taking its path to partnering with global brands to widen resources and allow people to buy everything online with ease and safe transactions.
In China, Alibaba has a great reputation, but has also received criticism in the global market due to counterfeiting of low-quality products. This Red Flag should always be a priority for Alibaba to win trust from global customers and establish a spotless reputation. Who do you think will make it to the top when this year ends?
