Alibaba has entered the convenience store market to further broaden its customer data collection efforts. The company launched a pilot store, Yike EGO, in Shanghai earlier this year and opened a second location in July, with a third planned. In addition to offering goods from local brands, Alibaba’s stores will also offer products that are not available on other e-commerce platforms.
Alibaba has entered the convenience store market to further broaden its customer data collection efforts. The company launched a pilot store, Yike EGO, in Shanghai earlier this year and opened a second location in July, with a third planned. Alibaba, which has invested over $9bn in the retail industry, uses the market primarily to gather valuable data on consumer demand.