In a bid to diversify their portfolios and increase their sales, Chinese e-commerce giants are reportedly now bolstering their involvement in the real estate market.
Major e-commerce companies have apparently begun to increase property listings on their platforms, which has resulted in an injection of new vitality into the sector.
Chinese online retailer giant JD.com has reportedly partnered with more than 200 domestic property developers across 70 cities throughout China.
The partnership has resulted in more than 6,000 new listings on the company's platform, which it plans to launch during the country's Singles Day shopping spree event next month.
E-commerce behemoth Alibaba Group Holding Ltd is reportedly doing much of the same and has revealed plans to include thousands of listings on its platform for the November 11 event. The company is reportedly preparing to launch more than 10,000 properties on its platforms for the upcoming occasion.
Industry experts have mentioned that the move to partner with online retailers is partly due to the added pressures being experienced by developers.
The companies are scrambling to dispose of their inventories at a much faster rate given the government's tight regulations aimed to curb property market investment speculation.
The partnerships are however a win-win situation for both e-commerce companies and property developers. The e-commerce companies stand to benefit from the high per-customer transactions of real estate properties, which will increase their gross merchandise volumes significantly. Meanwhile, property developers can use e-commerce platforms to more quickly cut their inventories by reaching more potential clients.
The inclusion of properties on these e-e-commerce platforms will also stand to benefit consumers, as they now have more options to choose from when they go online. Customers can not only buy their daily necessities only, but they can now also search for houses and properties on the same websites.
While JD.com has been involved in the property market since 2017, the company announced that it will be establishing new strategies to better integrate offline and online real estate businesses into their platform. The company hopes to create a one-stop service platform for both buyers and sellers, which will include marketing and various services.
Alibaba has mentioned much of the same, with plans to further bolster its systems to enhance both consumers' and sellers' experiences in buying and selling properties.
According to real estate big data and AI startup Zhuge Zhaofang, the discounted properties provided by the country's e-commerce players do provide an innovative sales model in the market, which should prove to significantly boost activity within the sector.
