Alibaba’s Big Data Is Helping China’s Exporters Pivot to China
- Data analysis allows Chinese firms to pin down local needs
- Pandemic, geopolitical tensions are fueling the domestic push
This article is for subscribers only.
As export orders started plummeting in March amid the coronavirus’s global spread, Chinese toothbrush maker Tommy Tu turned to the domestic market. With the help of Alibaba Group’s huge trove of data on what Chinese consumers are searching for, his factory shifted to making products that became local hits, like a battery-operated electric toothbrush for 9.9 yuan ($1.5).
The strategy helped Tu recover most of the lost foreign sales and reduce his Jiangsu-based firm’s dependence on exports to 60% of revenue, down from 90% earlier.