Alibaba and Tencent have made the latest progress in interconnectivity in the payment field. On September 27th, Taobao officially announced that starting from that day (27th), consumers can use WeChat Pay when shopping on Taobao. Taobao reminds that using the "WeChat Pay" function requires updating to the latest version of the Taobao app.
Southern Metropolis Daily reporters found that when shopping and settling on the Taobao app, clicking on "More Payment Methods" will display the option of WeChat Pay, which will then redirect to the WeChat page for payment. But not all merchants support WeChat Pay. Southern Metropolis Daily reporters found through testing that a large number of Taobao merchants can use WeChat Pay for settlement, but in some brands' Tmall flagship stores, there is still no WeChat Pay option for settlement.
Regarding this, Taobao's Southern Metropolis Daily reporter stated that some merchants currently do not support WeChat Pay. Taobao's platform capability is to fully support WeChat Pay, and merchants are gradually opening it up.
Tencent, Alibaba break through barriers for three years, WeChat Pay finally 'enters Taobao'
The breakthrough action between Alibaba and Tencent began in 2021. In September of that year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology held a meeting to rectify the shielding of external chains between Internet platforms. Afterwards, the long-standing relationship between Tencent and Alibaba underwent a turning point. Tencent's WeChat has released a statement to allow external connection access. Alibaba has stated that it will face the future together with other platforms and move towards the same direction.
Subsequently, both parties attempted to collaborate. In September 2021, Alibaba's Ele.me, Youku, Damai, Kaola Haigou, Shuqi and other applications integrated WeChat Pay. In November of the same year, Taobao and Tmall product sharing links were established, which can be accessed directly through one-on-one chats on WeChat.
In March 2022, Taobao will open WeChat Pay internal testing. Some users can choose "WeChat QR code payment" and "Go to WeChat to find friends to help me pay" when making payments on Taobao; In October of the same year, Alipay supported transfer to WeChat QQ friends. However, this feature does not directly transfer funds, but generates QR codes, which is a cumbersome process.
By 2023, both parties will accelerate their cooperation. The ads at the bottom of the articles on the WeChat official account can jump to Taobao in February, and the ads in WeChat circles of friends can jump to Tmall Taobao in May. Before last year's Singles' Day, the video account business, which was the backbone of Tencent's advertising revenue, was also integrated, allowing users to jump directly to Taobao with just one click.
However, "when Taobao can use WeChat payment" has always been a hot topic of consumers' attention. Whether Taobao and WeChat, two national level APPs, are fully connected also affects whether the Internet industry can truly become interconnected. In October last year, Taobao launched the "WeChat Scan Code Payment" option, where users need to save the payment QR code first and then scan the code to make payment on WeChat, which is a complex operation. But this feature has been seen as a breakthrough move for the two apps.
At the beginning of this year, some netizens posted on social media claiming that their Taobao could use WeChat payment, and "Taobao opens up WeChat payment" subsequently became a hot topic. On February 20th, Taobao customer service responded that WeChat Pay is a service launched by Taobao and gradually opening up through WeChat Pay orders. At present, WeChat Pay is only gradually being released for some users and only supports the option to purchase certain products. On September 4th, Taobao and Tmall announced that in order to enhance consumers' shopping experience, Taobao plans to add WeChat payment capabilities and adjust platform rules after the collection of opinions, covering all Taobao and Tmall merchants.
In the eyes of industry insiders, the official announcement of Taobao platform's integration with WeChat Pay means that Tencent and Alibaba's "interconnection" action has finally moved from traffic channels to the core stage of Taobao order payment interconnection. The two giants have completely bid farewell to the era of confrontation and entered the era of cooperation and win-win.
JD may access Alipay before Double 11
At the same time, the "interconnectivity" between JD and Alibaba platforms has recently revealed new trends, including cooperation in logistics and payment.
On September 26th, it was reported that Taobao and Tmall will officially integrate with JD Logistics and are expected to launch in mid October. After that, Taobao merchants will choose JD Logistics when selecting the shipping method for their products in the system. At the same time, JD.com will also integrate with Cainiao Express and Cainiao Station. At the same time, JD will also officially access Alipay payment, which is expected to be launched on the eve of Double 11. It is reported that both parties have reached an agreement on cooperation in logistics and payment. However, as of the time of writing, Southern Metropolis Daily reporters have sought verification from Taobao, Tmall, and JD.com regarding this matter, but neither side has responded yet.
At present, when consumers place orders on Taobao and Tmall, the main logistics carriers include Cainiao, as well as "Tongda System", Jitu, SF Express, Postal Service, etc., excluding JD Logistics. For example, when placing orders through self operated channels such as Tmall Supermarket, packages are mainly carried by Alibaba Group's Cainiao and its partner Danniao; At the same time, Alibaba holds different proportions of shares in the "Three Connections and One Delivery" system, and the "Tongda series" also carries a large amount of packages on Taobao and Tmall. A senior executive of the "Tongda series" once revealed that Taobao accounts for 30-40% of its package volume, and the number of live streaming orders has increased significantly in the past two years.
At present, the main logistics service provider on JD's self operated platform is JD Logistics. If consumers place orders on JD's third-party merchant (POP merchant) online store, the carrier includes various express brands, excluding Cainiao. Earlier, there were reports that third-party merchants who use JD Logistics can receive more traffic tilt from JD, but the logistics costs paid by merchants are also higher. In March 2023, Liu Qiangdong, Chairman of the Board of Directors of JD Group, emphasized at an internal management meeting that merchants are no longer required to use JD Logistics. "If they want to use Jitu or Tongda Express, let them use them. This move was once seen by the industry as JD fully opening up to "Tongda series" express delivery and Jitu, but Cainiao has not been included.
In terms of payment, currently when consumers place orders on JD.com, the default payment methods are ranked as JD Pay, Cloud QuickPass, WeChat Pay, etc.
Zhao Xiaomin, an expert in the express delivery industry, analyzed to Southern Metropolis Daily reporters that logistics and commercial flow are essentially mutually driven. If JD.com and Taobao/Tmall achieve mutual openness, it will definitely be beneficial for JD Logistics, especially the integration of Cainiao Station, which will bring more assistance to its end users. The integration of Taobao into JD Logistics is also driven by the inevitable requirement of pursuing customer stickiness and increasing transaction volume. However, it should be noted that in the current context where consumers pay attention to logistics services, JD Logistics has significant advantages such as "door-to-door delivery" in the same competition as "Tongda series", which may compete for some of the existing market share of "Tongda series" on the Taobao platform. In other words, "Tongda series" will face greater competitive pressure.
In addition, it is worth noting that merchants who have opened stores on both JD.com and Taobao/Tmall platforms may consider whether to use the same courier service on both platforms after no longer choosing between the two. This depends on the results of their negotiations with various logistics carriers. Zhao Xiaomin analyzed to Southern Metropolis Daily reporters that this news was released before Double 11, and the timing is also quite symbolic. "China's e-commerce has entered a stage of profound change. At present, from the macro policy perspective, the interconnection between Internet giants is the trend of the times. Whether Meituan, Tiktok, Pinduoduo, etc. will be fully opened up next deserves attention. In addition, the shuffle of the logistics industry will continue to strengthen".