ShopRunner has announced a new partnership with Alipay which will pave the way for Chinese online shoppers to buy directly from U.S. retailers’ ecommerce sites.
The new partnership combines ShopRunner’s marketing expertise and proprietary checkout capabilities on retailers’ ecommerce sites with Alipay’s ePass payment and logistics solutions to connect high-value Chinese consumers to U.S. retailers.
The ShopRunner-Alipay strategic partnership solves historic pain points for both Chinese consumers and U.S. retailers. It enables highly-motivated Chinese consumers to shop and buy the same assortment available to U.S. consumers through the retailer’s e-commerce sites and have it reliably shipped to them. The partnership provides retailers a channel to serve Chinese consumers using their existing infrastructure and leveraging ShopRunner’s knowledge of both markets. In addition to its proprietary technology, ShopRunner offers U.S. retailers a portfolio of marketing services through targeted channels to drive demand for their brands and merchandise. This service launches with a select group of existing ShopRunner merchants and is expected to expand rapidly over the coming months.
Jingming Li, President and Chief Architect of Alipay U.S., echoed the excitement. “Our partnership with ShopRunner enables us to deliver on discerning Chinese consumers’ unmet demand for high-quality, well-priced U.S. merchandise. ShopRunner has a keen understanding of U.S. retailers’ needs and priorities. We are excited to work with ShopRunner and U.S. merchants to provide Chinese shoppers with what they want and value,” he said.
In connection with its plans to attract and engage Chinese consumers, ShopRunner has hired Ming Yang, former Chief Digital Officer of Best Buy China and a Vice President with Amazon China, as Country Manager for its China business and has opened an office in Shanghai.