Taobao, JD.com, Pinduoduo "secretly compete"

This paper mainly discusses the competitive strategies of e-commerce platforms Taobao, JD.com, and Pinduoduo in the latest 618 shopping festival, and points out that the importance of traditional development models such as traffic and subsidies has been relatively reduced, and new technologies and models will become an important direction for the future development of e-commerce platforms.

This 618 is no longer the 618 it used to be;

The Internet, too, is no longer the Internet it used to be.

However, even in such a situation, we still see a dark war between e-commerce players represented by Taobao, JD.com and Pinduoduo.

For the e-commerce industry, the open and secret struggle between these players is beneficial to the healthy development of the industry, and as a starting point, we can get a glimpse of the profound changes that are taking place in the e-commerce industry.

In this year's 618, we saw JD.com's attempt at AI digital humans;

In this year's 618, we saw Taobao's investment in subsidies;

In this year's 618, we see that Pinduoduo is still moving forward at its own pace.

Behind the seemingly tepid, there is actually an undercurrent that is beginning to surge.

It will not only bring the development of the e-commerce industry to a new stage, but also bring the evolution and competition of the Internet industry to a new height.

Therefore, when Taobao, JD.com and Pinduoduo once again kicked off the battlefield of e-commerce, we do not only need to focus on the "dark war" between them, but also need to see more new signs about e-commerce and the Internet through these "dark wars".

With this as a starting point, we can have a correct understanding of Taobao, Jingdong and Pinduoduo, and we can truly get a glimpse of the profound changes that are taking place in the current industry.

01

Traffic is no longer the focus of competition between Taobao, JD.com and Pinduoduo.

Once upon a time, traffic has always been the focus of competition for e-commerce players, and even for the entire Internet player.

Whether it is relying on money-burning subsidies or relying on overwhelming advertising and marketing, e-commerce players always have an ultimate pursuit.

This ultimate pursuit is traffic.

618 is also their main battlefield for traffic.

Although e-commerce players represented by Taobao, JD.com and Pinduoduo have tried their best to focus on traffic, the dividends of traffic are the key to ensuring that their play is effective.

In the final analysis, the dividends of traffic still exist, which is the key to the reason why e-commerce players represented by Taobao, JD.com and Pinduoduo regard traffic as the focus of competition.

However, in this year's 618, what we see is that although the once commonplace playing methods are still in use, such as subsidies, such as advertising, the real focus of competition among players is no longer just the traffic itself, but it is no longer the market size itself.

On the one hand, the real reason why players no longer regard traffic as the focus is the peak of traffic dividends.

On the other hand, the real reason why players no longer regard traffic as the focus is the failure of previous models and playing styles, as well as the rise of new technologies represented by AI.

This actually provides a new opportunity for e-commerce players represented by Taobao, JD.com and Pinduoduo.

That is, they have found a way and method to solve the pain points and problems that cannot be solved in the past with the help of ways and methods other than the Internet, and such a way is not extroverted, but introverted.

The application of new technologies represented by AI and the rise of new e-commerce models represented by C2M are all direct manifestations of such a phenomenon.

When these new elements begin to play an important role in the transformation and development of e-commerce, we will increasingly see that traffic will no longer be the focus of competition among e-commerce players represented by Taobao, JD.com and Pinduoduo.

So, what exactly is the focus of their competition?

In my opinion, one of the most important aspects is that e-commerce players represented by Taobao, JD.com and Pinduoduo are transforming themselves through new technologies and new models, and in this way, they can find a new development model in the stock era.

This is the focus of competition among e-commerce players represented by Taobao, JD.com and Pinduoduo for a period of time in the future.

02

Cost-effective has begun to become the killer feature of Taobao, Jingdong and Pinduoduo.

Looking back at the history of the development of the Internet, we can find a very obvious phenomenon, that is, price advantage has always played a very important role in it.

It can be said that the history of the development of the Internet is a history of using the price ratio to obtain users and convert traffic.

But any player who finds the right price ratio and really uses it to promote his own development almost always becomes the final winner.

When the pattern of the Internet industry is determined, especially when the dividends of capital begin to disappear, it is just to win the competition in the way of flooding and subsidy, and it begins to encounter more and more difficulties.

Through this year's 618, we see a new sign happening.

That is, cost performance has begun to become the new killer feature for more and more players.

Whether it is JD.com's "cheap and good" or Taobao's "more than cheap", we can see that players no longer just see price advantage as the focus of competition.

In addition to the price advantage, more players began to pay attention to the cost performance, began to pay attention to the follow-up services, and in order to win the hearts of existing users.

Therefore, on the surface, players represented by Taobao, Jingdong and Pinduoduo are still competing in price and still fighting price wars, but in fact, the current price war has long been fundamentally different from the previous price war.

No longer blindly pay attention to price, but begin to see price more as a "stepping stone", to pry users, and then let users feel more cost-effective things, and to retain users, convert users, is the focus of competition in the new development cycle represented by Taobao, Jingdong and Pinduoduo.

In the final analysis, players represented by Taobao, Jingdong and Pinduoduo cannot just be a platform, and they can't just do matchmaking, but need to pay more attention to the industry itself, but need to be more involved in the upstream and downstream of the industry.

Only in this way will they be able to obtain new opportunities for development in the new stage of development.

For every player, only by finding the relationship between the benign interaction between the cost performance and their own development, and truly making the cost performance really promote their own development, can they truly win in the new stage of development.

03

The Internet is no longer the "label" of Taobao, JD.com and Pinduoduo.

When the Internet begins to become a way of life, especially when the Internet model begins to mature and complete, just using the Internet to find a way to solve it, just using the Internet to decorate itself, it begins to encounter more and more difficulties and problems.

Through this year's 618, we also see that the Internet is no longer the only "label" for players.

In fact, as early as before 618, players represented by Taobao, JD.com and Pinduoduo had begun a new wave of embracing AI and embracing the integration of data and reality.

Whether it is the slogan of "AI e-commerce" shouted by Ma Yun on the intranet, or Liu Qiangdong's digital human landing in the JD live broadcast room, or Pinduoduo's forward-looking layout of large models, we can see that players represented by Taobao, JD.com and Pinduoduo are beginning to look for new "labels".

For every player, how they find new technologies and new models, and use them to solve the dilemmas and problems they encounter in the development process, is the key to truly bring their own development out of the current development quagmire.

It is foreseeable that with the continuous maturity of new technologies and new models, we will see more and more new elements replacing the Internet and becoming a breakthrough for new development; We will see more and more new models as new ways to optimize and reshape the Internet.

When the players represented by Taobao, JD and Pinduoduo find new "tags" to replace the Internet, and really let these new "tags" play a new function and role, especially to achieve a closed loop in business, is the key to truly ensure that the players represented by Taobao, JD and Pinduoduo can truly enter a new stage of development.

It is foreseeable that in the future, what will really determine the position of Taobao, JD.com and Pinduoduo in the e-commerce market will no longer be a development model built on the basis of the Internet, but a model built on a new foundation represented by AI.

When players find the right model and method to build on such a foundation, and when players truly realize their evolution from the Internet era to the AI era, their development can truly enter a new cycle.

epilogue

618, as scheduled.

We also see the open and secret battles of e-commerce players represented by Taobao, JD.com and Pinduoduo, coming as scheduled.

Although it is still a familiar recipe, although it is still a familiar taste, through such a familiar fog, what we need to see more is the new changes that are taking place.

In short, Taobao, JD.com, and Pinduoduo have secretly escalated.

I don't know if you have noticed that traffic, especially traffic dominated by scale and efficiency, is no longer the focus of competition among players;

I don't know if you have noticed that subsidies, especially those represented by flood money burning, are no longer the first choice for players;

I don't know if you have noticed that the Internet, especially the Internet dominated by the export-oriented development model, is no longer the first choice for players.

For Taobao, JD.com and Pinduoduo, this is a new journey and a new opportunity.

As long as we truly grasp the correct development model, and only when we truly find the correct development model and method that are in line with our own development, can e-commerce players represented by Taobao, Jingdong and Pinduoduo continue to occupy a place in the new cycle.

Otherwise, the water of the new tide will inevitably wash away those "heroes" who once dominated the storm.

This article is written by Everyone is a Product Manager Author [Meng Yonghui], WeChat public account: [Meng Qi Pen Talk], original / authorized Published in Everyone is a product manager, without permission, it is forbidden to reprint.

Image from Unsplash, based on the CC0 license.