Shedding Light on Alibaba’s Shopper Metrics
In what seems to signal defiance to the coalition of opposition that JD.com (JD), Tencent (TCEHY), and Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) have tried to build in China, Alibaba (BABA) grew its customer base in China at the fastest rate in fiscal 3Q18 (December quarter), when compared with the same quarter one year ago. Alibaba finished fiscal 3Q18 with 515 million active shoppers in China, which represents an increase of 16% YoY (year-over-year). An active shopper for Alibaba is a retail customer who purchased an item on its e-commerce platforms within the past 12 months.