Borderfree announced it is collaborating with Alibaba’s e-payments service provider Alipay to launch five American retailers in a new pilot program in China this holiday season.
The pilot program leverages Alipay’s ePass to help U.S. brands reach online shoppers in China. It will be available throughout the holiday season and features Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, Ann Taylor and Aéropostale, according to a press release by Borderfree.
While language, payment and cultural barriers and other challenges still exist, Chinese demand for U.S. brands continue to increase. Alipay ePass addresses these challenges by offering Chinese consumers a familiar and seamless cross-border shopping experience.
The partnership pairs Borderfree’s global ecommerce platform with ePass, providing the logistics and marketing reach of Alipay in China.
Online shoppers will receive Borderfree’s localized customer experience including marketing messages, promotions and pricing in Chinese yuan. Upon finalizing their purchases, shoppers are taken to a modified checkout, offered in Mandarin Chinese and designed to deliver a familiar and comfortable experience for Chinese consumers.
“We believe the time is finally right for retailers to aggressively enter the Chinese market, and Borderfree is actively exploring new ways to help our customers more effectively reach this tremendous consumer base,” said Michael DeSimone, CEO of Borderfree in the press release.
“With a quickly evolving consumer market and growing base of sophisticated shoppers, China is a key part of our international ecommerce strategy,” said Kent Anderson, president of Macys.com in the press release. “We see this pilot from Borderfree and Alipay as a compelling way to overcome barriers that have made breaking into this market particularly challenging, and provide consumers with a straightforward, localized shopping experience.”