Tmall, China’s largest B2C online shopping website, is pushing American-made food products in a special promotion involving the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The promotion features products recommended for sale in China by the Agricultural Trade Office (ATO) of the U.S. Consulate-General in Shanghai. Part of the USDA, the ATO fosters international trade in American agricultural products, seafoodand processed foods.
Tmall is using the promotion to help build interest in its pre-sale channel, yushou.tmall.com, which allows consumers to put down deposits on selected items for later delivery. The prices that consumers ultimately pay for many of the products sold on yushou declines as more people order the products.
Tmall.com officials said the pre-sale model—which enables overseas suppliers to ship only those products that have already been ordered by consumers, eliminating the need to warehouse inventory—will change China’s food import supply chain and ensure that consumers receive the freshest imported food.