E-commerce giant Alibaba expands its US presence with new programs designed to help small business owners struggling during the coronavirus
Alibaba is launching a new set of e-commerce tools designed to help struggling American small business owners to increase online sales during the coronavirus outbreak. The resources include updated payment terms that allow Alibaba users to wait up to 60 days to pay invoices, a platform that better streamlines shipping and fulfillment, and new industry-specific digital trade shows.
"US small businesses are fighting through a remarkable set of challenges because of COVID-19 and they're looking for ways to continue to operate while being remote and for ways to thrive despite all the disruptions and challenges in the market," John Caplan, Alibaba.com's president of North America and Europe, said.As small business owners struggle to stay afloat amid the coronavirus outbreak, Alibaba is building upon its recently forged inroads within the US B2B market by rolling out a new set of tools to help accelerate online sales. The Chinese e-commerce juggernaut announced it is launching three new products to assist American small businesses navigate pandemic-related difficulties, while simultaneously capitalizing on the $23.9 trillion B2B market. The resources — which are designed to help with cashflow, shipping and fulfillment, and digital networking — come nearly a year afterThese gestures have already paid off: According to Alibaba, US buyers have increased by more than 70% year-over-year and transactions made by American businesses on Alibaba.com have increased by more than 100%. Speaking in a press call on Monday, John Caplan — Alibaba.com's president of North America and Europe — said the B2B retail market has experienced "20 years of transformation in the past two months" as more companies are relying on e-commerce than ever before. "US small businesses are fighting through a remarkable set of challenges because of COVID-19, and they're looking for ways to continue to operate while being remote and for ways to thrive despite all the disruptions and challenges in the market," Caplan said on the call. As part of the new program, Alibaba is launching updated payment terms that allow users to take up to 60 days to pay invoices without interest or additional fees. This option has become especially vital as businesses struggle to get PPP funding from the federal government or else make up for lost business from temporary closures, Caplan said. "Maintaining cash flow and making sure you have cash on hand is the lifeblood of every business, but particularly American small businesses," Caplan said. During the call, Caplan also announced a new partnership with digital freight marketplace Freightos intended to help connect small business owners with vendors to more efficiently transport products. This platform will function as a separate website called Alibaba Freight, which will let companies make bulk shipments by comparing options and booking and managing them directly through the site. To account for lost networking opportunities due to the cancelation of countless global conferences, Alibaba will launch digital industry-specific tradeshows. The first event will be focused on supplements and nutrition and is slated for mid-July. "Doing business online is the bridge for American small businesses through this crisis and into the next decade," Caplan said. "We are accelerating our transformation to get both sellers and buyers quickly set up for success and provide the critical tools and services that are required for growth."
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