Mobile sales ramp-up key to driving JD.com growth over time
More than 40pc of Singles Day orders placed through mobile devices seen as positive signal
This customer experience was nowhere more apparent than in its strong mobile sales growth on Singles Day, with more mainland consumers using smartphones and media tablets to buy goods during the world's biggest online shopping festival.
Nasdaq-traded JD said more than 40 per cent of its orders that day were placed through mobile devices, its own branded software applications and site, and Tencent Holdings' wireless messaging platforms Mobile QQ and Weixin, also known as WeChat.
JD did not provide its gross merchandise volume for Singles Day because its sales campaign is over 12 days.
That compared favourably against the 24 per cent average in mobile orders that JD posted in the second quarter, when it started to integrate Tencent's mobile platforms under their strategic partnership.
"We see near medium-term catalysts from integration with WeChat and Mobile QQ, which should lead to a rapid ramp-up of mobile traffic and transaction volume growth," Alicia Yap, the head of China internet research at Barclays, said in a report.