Just now$JD.com (JD.US)$/$JD-SW (09618.HK)$It delivered impressive results — both revenue and profit for the first quarter exceeded market expectations, JD Logistics's revenue surged and turned a loss into a profit, and the retail business grew steadily.

At a conference call to be held later, JD explained that in the first quarter, the group achieved positive performance in various aspects such as user growth, user behavior, and user experience. The quarterly active users achieved strong year-on-year growth, and the user base in low-tier cities grew at an accelerated pace.

As the number of users continues to rise, JD said it is confident that it will exceed the established growth target in 2024. At the same time, on the basis of maintaining a stable profit margin for the Group and retail business, we will invest in improving user experience and gaining market share in a disciplined manner, and will make targeted business investments around improving long-term supply chain capabilities and improving user experience.

GMV and revenue in the supermarket category are both at a double-digit percentage rate

Xu Ran, CEO of JD Group, explained in a conference call that the supermarket category resumed healthy growth in the first quarter, GMV and revenue both grew at a double-digit rate, and the number of orders and shopping frequency increased. The supermarket's momentum is expected to continue for the rest of the year and remain an important driver of growth over the long term. Furthermore, the electronics and household appliances categories are still very flexible.

Xu Ran said:

We are confident in our market leadership and mature supply chain capabilities in this field, and we will continue to focus on our own strategy to expand our business and profits through differentiated value-added services such as one-stop service trade services, new product launches, more competitively priced products, and a more dynamic platform ecosystem.

Strong year-on-year growth in quarterly active users, and order volume continued to maintain double-digit year-over-year growth

The first-quarter earnings report did not disclose specific data on user changes, but JD said that in the first quarter, the group achieved positive performance in various aspects of user growth, user behavior, and user experience.

The number of users continues to grow: quarterly active users achieved strong year-over-year growth, including new users, existing users, and premium members. The user base in low-tier cities is growing at an accelerated pace, with double-digit growth in order volume and shopping frequency, indicating an increase in the attractiveness of price-sensitive customers.

Positive user behavior: The frequency of shopping on the platform achieved a sharp double-digit year-on-year increase; order volume continued to increase in double digits year-on-year, maintaining growth for three consecutive quarters; average order value declined, but ARPU was relatively stable.

The user experience has been continuously optimized: a number of user experience plans have been launched, and the team has made substantial progress in implementation; NPS (net recommendation value) has increased significantly, providing differentiated services, such as integrated trade services for electronic appliances, direct delivery in supermarkets, and 24-hour delivery; and expanding the coverage of free delivery and free door-to-door pickup and return.

In terms of platform merchants, according to JD, the number of effective pop merchants surpassed one million in the first quarter, and the number of active merchants accelerated for four consecutive quarters, but the total number of merchants is still small compared to other platforms in the industry. JD will continue to make efforts to attract and cultivate more active merchants, and it is expected that the number of merchants will continue to rise in the future.

War 618 is imminent, how is JD dealing with it?

It's only been over 30 days since 618. Within JD, 618 has almost become a key battle to “preserve mountains and rivers” in 2024.

JD said during the conference call that while continuing to adhere to the low price strategy, it will highlight JD's differentiated advantages and provide consumers with good prices, good products and good services. As for the overall performance of the 618 promotion, JD maintains relatively optimistic expectations.

The sales pace has been adjusted. This year, 618 will directly begin at 8 p.m. on May 31, returning to the essence of the user's shopping experience.

JD said it will continue to pay attention to cooperation with brands and suppliers, strengthen JD's sales and user mentality, increase support for millions of small and medium-sized businesses, and help them achieve more growth goals.

JD believes that there is still a lot of room for improvement in business operation efficiency. Last year, JD spent a lot of time improving operational efficiency, mainly including the business team's ability to operate, as well as the operational efficiency of users and traffic. Improving operational efficiency will be the key for JD to increase profits and maintain long-term competitiveness.

Editor/Jeffrey