Taobao and Tmall merchants pay attention to this year, there are still these changes!

      In the blink of an eye, the annual Mid-Year Ceremony of 618 was ushered in. This year's pre-sale event was more than three weeks ahead of schedule compared with previous years, and the front line of the big promotion was extended again. With the arrival of 8 pm on May 24, this tough battle that merchants are preparing for has officially begun.

      This 618 promotion has 250,000 brands participating and 15 million products participating in the discount, which is unprecedented. How to stand out among many merchants, product selection, pricing in the early stage of the event, marketing rhythm in the event, etc., are all decisive factors. In addition, always paying attention to the new rules and dynamics released by the platform can also help merchants quickly adjust their direction and bring more traffic to the store.

1. After the freight insurance is reduced, the merchant’s products will be upgraded again.

      On May 25, at the 2021 Merchant Product Upgrade Conference, Qi Junsheng, general manager of Taobao Tmall Merchant Business Department, revealed that Taobao Tmall will have these changes this year:

Change 1: Qianniu Workbench will be fully upgraded to provide merchants with efficient and mobile store management capabilities;

      As the core tool for merchants to run their stores, Qianniu Workbench will be further upgraded this year.

      It is planned that in July this year, the new version of the mobile Qianniu Workbench will be officially launched to provide services to all merchants . Provide merchants with wireless and PC multi-terminal e-commerce service capabilities.

      In addition, Qianniu Workbench will integrate more merchant service mini programs to provide merchants with convenient management services in customer service, procurement, supply chain, logistics and other scenarios, further helping merchants improve their comprehensive operating efficiency.

      At the meeting, Taobao continued to announce that products including "Three Treasures and One Coupon" and "Bao Shop" will be changed from paid to free in early July, and will continue to reduce operating costs for merchants.

Change 2: Merchant private domain products have been upgraded from user reach tools to crowd operation solutions, from efficiency to effect;

      Subscriptions, customer service shopping guides, group chats, CRM, etc. will form a tool matrix for merchants to efficiently operate fans and members, and the platform will help merchants gain more operational initiative and digital capabilities.

      In addition, the business initiative of the "Subscribe" channel continues to be strengthened. Merchants can publish new products, members' exclusive benefits, fan discounts and other information in a centralized manner, and can jump to the merchant store with one click.

Change 3: Increase the upgrade of the path to enter the store and strengthen the connection between consumers' full link and stores;

      This year, Tmall 618 will fully expand consumers' store entry scenarios.

      In the past, most Taobao apps were displaying products. This year, they will provide more display opportunities for consumers to like "stores" through product search, store search, guess you like, micro-details, daily good stores and other means. For example , the "Daily Good Store" channel is added on the homepage, the new "store" recommendation you may like, and the "store" presentation form of Taobao's search side is revised .

      At the same time, as merchants' self-broadcasting becomes increasingly important in their operations, this year's 618 merchants' store live broadcast will be upgraded: when consumers open the official live broadcast room of any brand, they can use underscores on the same page to achieve seamless switching between multiple brand live broadcast rooms in the group, providing consumers with a complete shopping experience.

2. From opening a store to operating a store, the Taobao rules will be adjusted again

      As Tmall 618 is approaching this year, Taobao platform has successively presented a number of notices on changes to store-related rules, including Taobao store opening standards, Taobao store withdrawal standards, Taobao store naming and information standards, Taobao product release standards, Taobao product release standards, Taobao market access requirements changes to Taobao's various special market access requirements, and trial operation announcements on the adjustment of violation types of "description or quality inconsistent".

It is not difficult to find that from opening and withdrawing stores to standardized operation of merchants, these new regulations on public announcement have made corresponding adjustments, which are worthy of attention from merchants !

      Among them, the "Implementation Rules for Opening and Exiting Taobao Stores" was revised on May 13, clarifying the entry requirements for personal stores and corporate stores, and interpreting the handling methods of sellers who actively cancel their stores or Taobao will completely release stores in accordance with relevant rules, close stores and seal accounts.

      In terms of store naming and product release, Taobao has also made clearer regulations: Taobao’s store name can be changed, the initial store domain name cannot be modified, and sellers can order store-related tools to apply for use or modify the secondary domain name ; when publishing products, Taobao clearly states that false information must not be published, SKU price must be used to attract traffic, marketing must not be used to mislead consumers, etc.

      It is worth noting that in order to improve the operation and service capabilities of Taobao's special market sellers, Taobao has adjusted and optimized the access requirements for various special markets . The new access requirements for some special markets need to meet the conditions for Taobao merchants to grow at L3 or above . For stores with "describing or quality inconsistent" violations, the degree of seriousness of the circumstances will be subject to different treatments such as deductions of points, extended transaction periods, and payment of liquidated damages. Merchants must strictly abide by it to avoid losses caused by this.

3. Tmall's actions continue to benefit more merchants

      In May, for merchants on Tmall platform, Tmall also made corresponding adjustments in terms of investment, return freight insurance, pre-sale business, etc.

      On May 25, Tmall issued the "Announcement on the Adjustment of Relevant Rules on Tmall Investment Promotion Requirements", which will officially take effect on May 31. This is another timely adjustment to the "general taxpayer" investment promotion requirements after the announcement on April 29 to adjust the two entry requirements of "registered capital" and "year of establishment" and "company establishment". After the rules were changed, the requirements for "general taxpayers" were cancelled for multiple first-level categories such as maternal and infant, skin care products, food, 3C, sports and outdoor business categories, and the conditions for entering Tmall were relaxed for more and more excellent small and medium-sized enterprises and new brands, which is a favorable policy .

      Recently, Tmall platform optimized the "Download Rules" clause in the "Tmall Presale Business Management Specifications": after paying the deposit, the final payment is not paid as scheduled due to the buyer's own reasons, and the deposit will not be refunded. This new regulation officially came into effect on May 25, 2021.

      In order to further reduce the merchant's "return freight insurance" expenses, Tmall platform has coordinated insurance companies to reduce the premiums of "return freight insurance" to varying degrees: the minimum is reduced from 0.15 yuan to 0.01 yuan, the maximum is reduced from 3.3 yuan to 3 yuan, and the premiums corresponding to different risk rates are reduced to varying degrees.

4. Behind the new rules, there are more business opportunities

      Since the beginning of this year, whether from simplifying rules to reducing operating costs, or from lowering operating thresholds to upgrading merchant operating tools, Taobao and Tmall have launched a variety of measures covering the full range of merchant operations.

      Industry insiders believe that when these measures come together, the platform's business environment and fairness will be further improved, which can fully meet the in-depth operational needs of brand merchants, and also provide a number of simplified measures to lower the operating threshold for small and medium-sized merchants.

      At present, Taobao and Tmall are not only the most efficient e-commerce platforms, but also the first base for merchants and brands to actively operate members.

      In the past year, more than 20 brands on Tmall have achieved more than 10 million members. This Tmall 618 promotion also provides exclusive discounts to members of more than 20,000 brands .

      In the future, Taobao will continue to open more store autonomy and space to merchants, helping merchants operate their brand minds, accumulate consumer digital assets, and achieve sustainable and predictable growth through the combination of public and private domains.

      The only thing that remains unchanged in the world is change. Faced with such favorable policies and new regulations, merchants must adjust their strategic direction in a timely manner and seize the opportunity.