US retailer Costco may face lukewarm reception to its Tmall outlet from Chinese consumers due to its limited selection of products and the long delivery process.
Costco now offers about 120 items such as food and beverage and household general merchandise through its official website on Tmall, the B2C website of Alibaba Group. "The products are much more expensive than the food sold at Costco's US stores, and the delivery process takes too long. I wouldn't bother to give it a try," said Sherry Cao, a Shanghai office lady in her late 20s.
Costco Executive Vice President Jim Murphy said in a statement: "Costco sees tremendous growth opportunities in China especially in light of Chinese consumers' increasing appetite for imported products."
The US company will analyze consumer data based on transaction records on Alibaba. Products sold at Costco's Tmall store normally takes five to 20 days to deliver as they have to face customs clearance procedures.
Costco's Asian presence includes 19 shops in Japan and 10 each in Taiwan and South Korea through majority-owned subsidiaries.
Alibaba said collaboration will be stepped up with overseas vendors while allowing more Chinese people living in foreign countries to buy from its sites