JD.com sells millions of hairy crabs in 24 hours

As a precursor to the highly-anticipated hairy crab season, popular Chinese e-commerce platform JD.com hosted a one-day sales event highlighting the species earlier this month, selling nearly two million crustaceans and corresponding gift coupons during the promotion’s first 24 hours.

“Super Hairy Crab Day” is the most recent installment in the “Super Product Day” or “Super Brand Day” promotion series on JD.com, which is designed to promote specific brands or product categories. 

Sales of hairy crab have jumped over the past few years on JD.com, the online marketplace revealed, with purchases of the species increasing by 500 percent from January to August 2017 compared to the same timeframe last year. Beijing and Guangzhou are some of the largest markets in China for hairy crab, with sales of the species in Beijing increasing by 800 percent alone since last year, JD.com said. Even bigger increases are expected for September 2017, it said.

As the company works on further refining its logistics network, it anticipates a boost in hairy crab sales in smaller Chinese markets as well, including in the southwestern province of Guangxi, which already saw sales of the crustacean rise by 860 percent during the first half of this year. The online marketplace’s logistics network currently allows for customers in more than 300 cities across China to receive fresh crabs within 48 hours. Meanwhile, consumers in 150 cities can receive fresh crab shipments in less than 24 hours from the e-commerce platform, and those who live closer to production sites, such as in Shanghai and Suzhou, can get their hands on their JD.com shellfish deliveries in under six hours.   

The delivery protocol for hairy crab is highly specialized, the company said. 

“JD.com takes special precautions throughout the entire hairy crab delivery process so consumers can enjoy the freshest live crabs, including tailor-made packaging to ensure optimum temperature control and air flow,” JD.com explained in a press release. “More importantly, by leveraging JD.com’s self-operated cold chain logistics network, the crabs are under 24-hour surveillance throughout the entire process including packaging, distribution, and cross-city and last-mile delivery.” 

Starting this year, the e-commerce platform is also offering what it calls Fresh Crab Insurance, which allows eligible customers to receive a possible refund if their crab purchases die within six hours upon delivery. 

A commitment to sustainable hairy crab production has spurred JD.com to join with local governments in 10 key crab production areas, including Lake Yangcheng, Lake Tai and Lake Hongze to form a strategic crab alliance.

“By working together, JD.com will be able to promote industry standardization, improve production sustainability and bring rapid 'lake-to-table' delivery of fresh, high-quality hairy crabs to consumers throughout China,” the company said. 

Subscribe

Want seafood news sent to your inbox?

You may unsubscribe from our mailing list at any time. Diversified Communications | 121 Free Street, Portland, ME 04101 | +1 207-842-5500
None