Taobao Instant Commerce to launch ‘Taobao Convenience Store’ chain

Taobao Instant Commerce, Alibaba’s quick commerce unit, is set to launch a new retail brand called “Taobao Convenience Store” (our translation), LatePost reported. The stores will operate 24 hours a day and offer around 10,000 SKUs across categories such as groceries, snacks, alcohol, electronics, baby products, and beauty items — roughly triple the selection of a typical convenience store.

Despite the name, Taobao Instant Commerce will not open or control stores directly. Instead, it will authorize qualified merchants to operate under the brand and provide them with traffic, supply chain, and delivery support, while requiring compliance with platform standards such as 24-hour operations and order handling performance. [LatePost, in Chinese]