How Alibaba’s Taobao solved the trust problem in China and changed the way people shop

In China, Alibaba has become synonymous with e-commerce, while its Taobao and Tmall platforms are household names.

Every month, some 634 million consumers – nearly half of China’s population – pull up Alibaba Group Holding’s Taobao Marketplace and Tmall e-commerce apps on their smartphones. Whether you are a farmer after crop fertiliser or a new homeowner looking to spend 18,000 yuan (RM10,749) on a 15-piece, Victorian-style furniture set, there is something for everyone.

In China, Alibaba has become synonymous with e-commerce, while its Taobao and Tmall platforms are household names. The Hangzhou-based firm, which is the parent company of the South China Morning Post, has a market capitalisation of about US$460bil (RM1.89tril), making it the world’s second most valuable e-commerce company after Seattle-based Amazon.com.