Trending alibaba ' s Buy +, a virtual shopping interface online , the China way
The rules of Tech
Trending alibaba ' s Buy +, a virtual shopping interface online , the China way
By Chloe Riley , assoCiate editoR
In August , Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding formed a joint venture with Marriott International to manage Marriott ’ s Chinese storefronts on Figgy , Alibaba ’ s travel service . It will also soon manage Marriott ’ s Chinese language websites and mobile apps .
“ The burgeoning middle class in China is hungry for the U . S . product ,” said Lee McCabe , Alibaba vice president for North America at the July Revenue Strategy Summit ( RSS ) in Washington , D . C . “ Contact is about how we make contact with the consumer , and it should be about much more than just a transaction .”
Creating experiences that go beyond the online purchase is Alibaba ’ s strong suit . In November 2016 , just before China ’ s Singles ’ Day shopping festival , the company launched Buy +, a “ virtual reality universe ” that allows consumers to buy products from companies via use of a virtual reality headset that transports them into a virtual mall . Some 30,000 people had tried the platform an hour after it launched ; and a more recent count put that number closer to 8 million .
At that same time , the company released an augmented reality game similar to Pokemon Go to earn prizes from companies like Shanghai Disneyland , Starbucks and McDonald ’ s . Other promotions included an eight-hour fashion show via its online platform Tmall ; audiences viewing it live and streaming could buy the outfits and accessories shown . For participating brands , the event was a chance to interact with Chinese consumers whose shopping habits are driven largely by mobile devices .
Alibaba brings Marriott one step closer to that Chinese consumer . The goal , according to Marriott Global Chief Commercial Officer Stephanie
“ The burgeoning middle class in china is hungry for The u . s . producT .”
— lee MCCaBe , viCe pResident , aliBaBa
Linnartz , is to tap into a huge market that increasingly is traveling beyond Asia Pacific . “ The more we can get this share , the greater for our owners ,” she said at the time .
“ Good targeting is the difference between a conversion and a missed opportunity . It ’ s that simple ,” McCabe added at RSS . “ This takes the meaning of big data or targeting , which is how I think about it , to an entirely new realm of possibility .”
The rules of Tech
Where hotel technology is going – and should go – from Dan Phillips , partner at Alpharetta , Georgia-based consultancy Dare to Imagine : on the curve : “ Years ago , it was a hotelier ’ s goal to have technology that was equal to or better than what people had in their house or at their office . And starting 10 years ago , we started falling behind that curve … Hospitality is averaging about five years behind what typically happens in the rest of the world . We ’ ve gotten used to that . The way that hotels are trying to handle that now is figuring out what side of the fence they want to be on : Do they want to invest in a select technology in their hotel and propose that as being the vehicle that guests use , or do they want to invest in an infrastructure that enables guests to use their own devices ? I think the industry is still struggling on that . But if they lean toward enabling guests with their technology , it ’ s much easier to stay current … I think if you find enablers to guest room technology , the easier it is to stay closer to the curve .” the 6-second rule : “ If you ’ re going to put any technology in to a guest room , you ’ ve got to adhere to the 6-second rule . If the guest comes into the room and sees new technology , and they can ’ t figure out how to use it in 6 seconds they ’ re not going to use it . It ’ s going to generate a phone call to the front desk or engineering saying ‘ this is broken ,’ and it ’ s going to create a negative perception for that hotel .” prioritizing upgrades : “ I ’ m always ‘ guest first ’… Are we taking a look at guest complaints at the front desk or on TripAdvisor , talking about the services that we currently provide ? That information would drive me toward what we need to do on the front of the house and guest-facing side .”
12 hotelsmag . com October 2017