Tmall set “trial operation period” to simplify the review steps of opening a store.
April 19, For the first time, Tmall lowered the threshold for opening stores and will pilot the Trial operation period. In the future, for merchants who apply to open a store on Tmall, the qualification review will be simplified. After passing the 7-month trial operation capability assessment, the trial store will be upgraded to an official Tmall store automatically. This is a major change in the rules for merchants to open stores since Tmall was founded in 2009.
According to Tmall’s official website of “Tmall Merchant Settlement Regulations Adjustment Announcement”, this move is to allow businesses to have more opportunities to demonstrate their business capabilities and to more fairly and effectively select high-quality businesses to serve consumers better with Tmall.
According to the rules, trial operation means that after successful entry, the merchant will first establish a special temporary store form different from the existing store type. The merchant will conduct a trial operation in this form and accept Tmall’s assessment. The trial operation period does not usually exceed 210 days. At this time, new merchants need to be assessed at the four-time points on the 30th, 90th, 150th, and 210th days after the store goes online. The assessment content includes 6 dimensions such as store business turnover, product experience, logistics experience, after-sales experience, and consulting experience, Disputes, and complaints experience. If all the dimensions are passed, you can officially open the Tmall store.
During the trial operation period, Tmall will start pilot projects in 4 industries including beauty, personal care, home cleaning and maternal and child industries, including beauty and skincare, essential oils, make-up, perfume, children’s clothing, baby clothing, parent-child clothing, and other categories.
Tmall store opening process
| Before | After |
| 1. Merchants submit application documents | 1. Merchants submit Trial application documents |
| 2. Tmall first review (Brands) | 2. Tmall review once only |
| 3. Tmall second review (Qualification) | 3. Open Store-Trial Operation |
| 4. Open Official Store | 4. Upgrade to Official Store (pass assessment) |
It is worth noting that, Tmall does not authorize any third party to apply on behalf of the brands. Please submit all the documents on behalf of the brands.
Since January this year, Tmall’s management has stated many times that in 2021, Tmall will optimize the business experience and consumer experience as the core of its work. To this end, Tmall also adjusted its organizational structure, strengthened its merchant strategy, merchant back-end tools, and established exclusive merchant service and consumer service operation teams. A letter from Alibaba to customers on April 10 also stated that it will further strengthen customer value, focus on customer experience, and continue to introduce a series of measures to lower platform operating thresholds and reduce platform operating costs.
