618 shopping festival

Beyond the Buzz, Chinese e-commerce platforms use generative AI for boosting sales during 618 shopping festival

Beyond the Buzz, Chinese e-commerce platforms use generative AI for boosting sales during 618 shopping festival

Aron Chen

posted on June 25, 2023 11:52 amEditor : Boyuan Wang

Sluggish sales and inner competition are many people's most direct perception of China's 618 shopping festival this year.

Sluggish sales and inner competition are many people's most direct perception of China's 618 shopping festival this year. But It's not just about discount coupons and product promotions with dizzying advertisements; e-commerce platforms and consumer brands also leverage AI text and image applications such as ChatGPT, Midjourney, and other generative AI into different aspects of product development, promotions, and sales.

In addition to offering discounts to merchants and users during the 618 shopping festival, major e-commerce platforms also shared stories about AI.

JD.com took the lead in promoting AI. On May 22nd, JD Cloud, the cloud computing arm of JD.com, launched a program to create AI-powered digital humans for online merchants. They created "AI hosts" and "digital avatars" during the big promotion period for selected JD.com stores. At the same time, JD Cloud introduced ChatJD, inspired by ChatGPT, to establish intelligent conversational customer service.

JD.com also applied AI technology to the product posters for the 618 shopping festival. Using AI technology, JD generated nearly 20 frog images based on the core concept of "Wa Sai" (a play on words with the Chinese word for frog). Each frog image was customized based on the characteristics of each product. Incorporating variations in actions, expressions, and props that align with the product features made the frog images highly relevant and interactive with the products.

Following closely, Alibaba's e-commerce marketplace Taobao launched the "AI Ecological Partner Program" on May 23rd. This program aims to apply AI in various aspects of the store decoration, creative product image generation, marketing planning and promotion, and content organization and creation. Through this program, intelligent generative services are provided to merchants in the areas of content, data, and customer service. The goal is to enhance the overall shopping experience and support businesses with AI-powered solutions on Taobao and Tmall platforms.

Short video app operator Kuaishou has also announced its plans to utilize AI technology to provide search summaries for merchants. They aim to empower the creation of product copy, images, ad scripts, video effects, and other content using AI.

It's worth noting that Baidu has also joined the AI wave during the 618 shopping festival this year. During the launch event of the "Baidu 618 AI Shopping Carnival," Baidu announced that their newly launched e-commerce brand, Baidu Youxuan, will introduce new AI features such as virtual shopping guides, AI shopping rankings, virtual live streaming rooms, and AI-generated content to enhance the shopping experience.

In summary, the application of AI in e-commerce platforms can be categorized into four main areas, including AI algorithm recommendation, search optimization, order processing, and data analysis.

In addition to e-commerce platforms launching AI features during the 618 period, numerous brands have also joined the AI battle by introducing AI products and incorporating AI into their packaging, advertising, and brand imaging.

Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) brands were among the earliest adopters of AI.

AI has been used to design product packaging. Yili, a leading dairy brand, introduced six AI-designed packaging designs inspired by Chinese landscapes. The company stated that AI was involved, and in some cases even played a leading role, in the conceptualization and visual design of the packaging. Similarly, superX, a beer brand, launched four limited-edition canned beer packaging designs, with two designs created by AI and two by human designers. Additionally, brands such as Coca-Cola, Wong Lao Ji, Anmuxi, Nestlé, and others have also released AI-designed packaging for their products.

The key advantage of intelligent image generation lies in its speed, high level of integration, and strong innovation capabilities. It allows for the rapid generation of a sufficient number of alternative design options within a short timeframe. This enables brands to explore a wide range of creative possibilities and iterate quickly, ultimately leading to more efficient and dynamic product design processes.

Another aspect is using AI to design advertisements. During the 618 shopping festival, Baidu's AI painting tool, WENXIN YIGE, collaborated with JD.com to launch the first AI-generated offline advertisement for Chinese e-commerce.

Additionally, Baidu also partnered with brands such as Zhouheiya, Wong Lao Ji, and Xufuji to release graphic and text-based "best wishes for college entrance examination" advertisements. Furthermore, Wu Fang Zhai, a renowned traditional Chinese snack brand, combined AI with traditional culture to create video advertisements. These initiatives demonstrate how AI is being harnessed to enhance the creativity and effectiveness of advertising campaigns during the 618 period.

While the involvement of AI in the 618 shopping festival was noticeable, the overall impact may not have been as significant as expected. It seems that no brand was able to achieve a breakthrough solely through AI, and the use of AI did not reverse the trend of sluggish sales during the 618 period.

JD stated that the event surpassed expectations and achieved a new record; Alibaba highlighted users' increased engagement on Taobao and Tmall as their notable achievement during this year's festival. However, Chinese e-commerce platforms have chosen not to disclose the gross merchandise volume (GMV) statistics for the 618 shopping festival this year , indicating that the declining consumer spending in the world's second-largest economy could be impacting the performance of the country's tech giants.