Abandoned by mainstream e-commerce platforms! , pre-sale system
Why was the pre-sale system abandoned by mainstream e-commerce platforms?
Although it can reduce merchants' business risks and warehousing costs, delays in delivery and the inability to return or exchange make consumers feel like they are "paying money to buy something."
What makes this year’s “618” promotion different from previous years is that the two major e-commerce platforms, Tmall and JD.com, will cancel the pre-sale system. The pre-sale system can reduce business risks and warehousing costs, but it has also been criticized by consumers. Under the impact of live streaming, community group buying, and instant retail, how to improve user experience has become the top priority for e-commerce platforms. After the pre-sale system is cancelled, low-price strategies, spot sales, shortening the activity cycle and increasing the added value of goods and services will become new methods for e-commerce platforms during the major promotion period.
Although there is still more than a month until this year's "618" big promotion, major e-commerce platforms are already "ready to move." Different from previous years, this year’s “618” two major e-commerce platforms, Tmall and JD.com, will cancel the pre-sale system.
In previous "618" sales, Tmall and JD.com usually conducted pre-sales at the end of May. Consumers needed to pay a deposit first and the balance a week later. During this period, the platform will issue a large number of coupons to attract consumers to purchase again.
"The problem is that the pre-sale system has been 'badly played' by some merchants, and some merchants have passed on the risks and costs to consumers." Industry insiders pointed out that although the pre-sale system can reduce merchants' operating risks and warehousing costs, it delays the release of goods. The products cannot be returned or exchanged, etc., which makes consumers feel like they are "spending money and suffering".
"The pre-sale of big sales is very troublesome and the rules are complicated. We often have to do 'arithmetic questions'. In 2023, I bought a massager during the pre-sale, but when it was officially launched, there were even more gifts." May 12 Mr. Wang, a consumer who lives in Jiulongpo District, Chongqing, complained to reporters on the same day.
In fact, the pre-sale system itself is not new. Before it was introduced into the e-commerce field, it had always been one of the main sales models in the real estate industry, aiming to reduce capital costs for developers. As time goes by, consumers’ novelty towards pre-sales gradually fades. The complicated shopping process behind pre-sales has also caused resistance among some consumers. The “low prices”, “full discounts” and “buy now, enjoy first” that consumers originally expected have become increasingly difficult to fulfill. In addition, some clothing, footwear and hats merchants even set the pre-sale cycle to 90 days, which almost turned the pre-sale system into "customized" sales... Consumers' enthusiasm for pre-sales continues to decrease.
In April this year, Ms. Ling, a Chongqing consumer, complained to the Chongqing Market Supervision Department that when she purchased cosmetics in the live broadcast room of a certain brand of cosmetics official flagship store, the merchant said that after the consumer paid a deposit of 50 yuan in advance, the final price of the cosmetics set would not be the same. to 500 yuan. But after Ms. Ling paid the deposit, the merchant asked her to pay a balance of 558 yuan, which was obviously different from the advertised price.
An analysis of the complaints received by the National Consumers Association in 2023 released by the China Consumers Association in April this year shows that there are five problems in the pre-sale model of e-commerce platforms that urgently need to be regulated, including dishonesty in price increases for "final payment" and lack of guaranteed prices for pre-sale goods. , the promised gifts are not fulfilled, the goods are not shipped within the promised time, and the "lowest price" promotion is not true. The reporter saw on the Black Cat complaint platform that there were nearly 90,000 complaints about pre-sales, mainly involving false publicity, delayed delivery or even no delivery.
The pre-sale system was once a powerful tool for e-commerce platforms, which can reduce merchants’ operating risks and warehousing costs. However, under the impact of live streaming, community group buying, and instant retail, how to improve user experience has become the top priority of e-commerce platforms.
"Without pre-sales, consumers can buy ready-made products, which reduces silent costs. If there is a problem with the goods, they can be returned directly." Mo Yuanming, a professor at Chongqing Technology and Business University, said that this year's "618", some e-commerce platforms will launch A series of measures such as full price guarantee, free shipping for event products, and provision of freight insurance correspond to issues that are of high concern to consumers, such as large product price changes and slow logistics speeds.
So, will canceling the pre-sale system have a big impact on platform merchants? Industry insiders pointed out that the previous pre-sale method was wrapped in the "cloak" of a big sale. Merchants generally had to sell at reduced prices to match funds and after-sales resources, which affected corporate profits. Judging from the situation of major sales in recent years, the experience of the pre-sale mechanism for consumers and merchants is not very good. But it is undeniable that canceling the pre-sale system will have an impact on some smaller businesses with weaker supply chain capabilities. Originally, they made as many goods as they sold, but now they have to stock up in advance, and the backlog of inventory may put pressure on their cash flow.
Mo Yuanming pointed out that in the short term, canceling the pre-sale system may sacrifice some short-term income and affect the total transaction volume of the platform. But in the long run, this will release the goodwill of "staying away from routines and returning to the essence" to consumers. Thinking about needs from the perspective of consumers again and improving the experience are adjustments that the platform must make. Now, after the pre-sale system is cancelled, low-price strategies, spot sales, shortening the activity cycle and increasing the added value of goods and services will become new methods for e-commerce platforms during the major promotion period.
According to industry insiders, the current e-commerce environment is very different, and consumers' needs have become more specific and pragmatic, paying more attention to cost-effectiveness and quality-price ratio. Therefore, this year's "618" promotion will be an unprecedented competition between e-commerce platforms, but the competition will still be the "three old things" - price, service and quality.
In fact, when the market loses its momentum for rapid growth, the pre-sale system is obviously no longer applicable. Abandoning the pre-sale system is not a "big retreat" for e-commerce platforms, but a signal to refocus on user value. Zhang Yi, CEO and chief analyst of iiMedia Consulting, said frankly that the cancellation of pre-sales by leading platforms such as Tmall and JD.com was largely due to competition from live streaming platforms such as Douyin and Kuaishou. The prices of live broadcast e-commerce can be changed at any time, but under the pre-sale rules, the price is fixed, so the live broadcast e-commerce merchants only need to follow the price and formulate competitive strategies. So frankly speaking, the pre-sale model is a bit outdated. Without a particularly low price, it is difficult to impress consumers.
The platform’s cancellation of the pre-sale system will inevitably have an impact on the total transaction volume. Therefore, the platform is relatively cautious about canceling the pre-sale system across the board. For example, it was only Tmall that Taotian Group announced to cancel this year’s “618” pre-sale. Industry insiders pointed out that starting with Tmall to cancel the pre-sale system for major promotions is not only to test the waters, but also to allow merchants to adapt to the transition period.
Some industry observers pointed out that the practice of extending promotion nodes has caused both platforms and merchants to invest too many resources. The domestic e-commerce industry has entered an era of stock competition, traffic dividends are no longer available, user scale has peaked, and performance growth has gradually become flat. If all e-commerce players want to find growth in the existing market, they must pay attention to consumption itself, listen to the voices of consumers, operate with integrity, use fewer routines, and return to the original intention of being "user-centered".
