AliExpress clearly defines the dual-track drive of "self-operation + hosting", and the status of self-operated merchants has been greatly improved

The reporter learned from several AliExpress merchants that AliExpress is adjusting its cross-border category solutions, and the status of POP (i.e., the merchant self-operation model) will be greatly improved. Several AliExpress shop assistants revealed to merchants that AliExpress has already clarified the "POP+hosting" dual-track driving strategy to provide clear operation directions for different categories of goods.

A series of recent announcements have also sent the same signal: for example, relaxing the delivery time requirements of POP, upgrading the gold and silver medal system of POP, implementing tiered management of Choice products, increasing warehouse distribution rights, etc.

"It's a good time to clarify the positioning of different categories before Double 11," said a senior seller who has been deeply involved in the cross-border field for 10 years. "In the past two years, AliExpress has mainly focused on warehouse network construction and supply chain fulfillment capabilities to improve consumer experience. With this foundation, the platform has the confidence to improve the status of POP and use warehouse delivery to provide products with certain traffic."

The training materials obtained by the reporter show that in the past two years, the average global delivery time of AliExpress has been shortened by 50%, and the delivery time in key countries has been increased to 5-7 days. According to Alibaba's latest financial report, the proportion of Choice orders on AliExpress has reached 70%.

The above-mentioned senior seller believes: "POP is AliExpress's unique competitive advantage. AliExpress should seize POP merchants, enrich product categories, and differentiate itself from the four little dragons going overseas. This is a unique way for AliExpress to go overseas."

The core of this category solution upgrade is to give cross-border managed goods and POP goods a clear positioning. Among them, semi-managed goods will continue to be supported as a logistics upgrade service for POP merchants; if the category is more suitable for warehouse delivery, a full-managed channel will also be added for semi-managed goods .

For non-standard categories driven by new products and with a high variety of goods, the platform encourages merchants to operate independently in the POP model and they can choose flexible delivery methods, including semi-managed or JIT (shipping only after receiving an order).

For standard products and small and light items, it is recommended to ship from the spot warehouse. The platform will provide marketing channels such as "N yuan N pieces" and "super explosion day" to strengthen the price power of goods.

In summary, the status of POP has been greatly improved, and warehouse-shipped goods have certain traffic.

Specifically:

1. Non-standard categories with high product richness should boldly do POP, and high-quality POP merchants will obtain more rights and interests. Some recent actions have released this signal in advance. For example, on September 9, AliExpress announced that the POP delivery assessment time limit for some special categories would be extended, and the time limit for new products to be put online within 30 days would be extended from 72 hours to 96 hours, using actual support to encourage POP merchants to launch new products for testing.

The platform will focus on increasing investment in high-quality POP merchants, and provide all-round support in new product incubation, traffic in key countries, penalty exemptions, supply chain discounts, product delivery quotas, settlement cycles, etc.

2. For standardized "light and small" products, don't hesitate to put them into the warehouse. From the perspective of the platform's product positioning, "light and small" products should focus on being put into the warehouse + low price.

How to enter the warehouse? Merchants can check whether the goods are must-enter the warehouse in "Merchant Backstage-Product Operation". After being invited to enter the warehouse, merchants need to operate the warehouse in time and confirm the replenishment order. They can obtain marketing rights such as "N Yuan N Pieces" and "Super Outbreak Day", as well as support from more national traffic and discounts, so as to obtain more sales opportunities.

On the issue of "whether to ship from the warehouse", AliExpress did not force or implement the "one-size-fits-all" approach that merchants were worried about. Instead, it adopted a "dual-track drive" to allow warehouse-shipped products to focus on cost-effectiveness, and POP products to focus on richness, so that each can find its own positioning and give full play to its advantages.

AliExpress

Self-operation + hosting