Alibaba to spend US$15 million on digital flea market as China looks to second-hand sales
Company first launched mobile app for used-goods trading called Xianyu (Idle Fish) in June 2014
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is going to invest at least 100 million yuan (US$15.4 million) this year to develop a digital flea market on the mainland, Chinese media report.
The firm launched a used-goods mobile app called Xianyu (Idle Fish) in June 2014 that has since attracted more than 100 million registered users, according to news website yicai.com.
So far, about 170 million used goods have been traded through the smartphone app, the report said.
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The firm is planning to invest 100 million yuan to introduce a flea market into 100 urban cities across the country, where users of Xianyu can trade second-hand products in local communities, according to the report.
Shanghai-based data analysis agency CBNData said the used-goods trade market could reach 400 billion yuan in mainland China this year.
Xianyu’s customers can use their smartphones to run their stores, taking and uploading product photos, creating catchy product descriptions, and adding promotional voice recordings.
