We've highlighted three key points about the newly launched membership system on Taobao.
The focus has finally fallen on the "Super Members".
On August 6th, Taobao launched a new Super Member system, integrating resources from Ele.me, Fliggy and other Alibaba - affiliated platforms. The member benefits comprehensively cover all aspects of daily life, including food, entertainment, clothing, accommodation, and transportation.
This new Taobao Super Member system has two core features: it covers all Taobao users and integrates multiple business lines.
Specifically, this is a free and threshold - free system. Every Taobao user is a Super Member, and they are automatically divided into 6 levels based on their Taobi Score. Consumption on Taobao, Ele.me, and Fliggy is all included in the calculation of the Taobi Score.
Since there is already the 88VIP, why does Taobao need to launch a new member system? By integrating e - commerce, food delivery, and travel services, what exactly does Alibaba's "Grand Consumption Platform" aim to achieve? Does the Super Member system, which belongs to the platform, have any relation to merchants and brands?
After our research, we've reached a conclusion: Under Alibaba's current strategic design, the launch of the Taobao Super Member system is inevitable. By taking a broader view from the development from Taobao Flash Sale to the Taobao Super Member system, we can understand Alibaba's real strategic intention.
01. What has been upgraded in the Taobao Super Member system?
The Taobao Super Member system has 6 levels: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, and Black Diamond. Users at the Platinum level and above can activate the 88VIP.
From this, we can see Taobao's starting point: to create a more inclusive member system that encompasses all users, rather than just serving a portion of paying users.
As a national - level platform that has been online for over 20 years, creating a brand - new member system for a user base of over one billion is extremely complex. The first question is, how should users be segmented? Fortunately, Taobao has an existing asset: the Taobi Score.
The Taobi Score has remained relatively unknown for a long time. Its most well - known function might be setting a threshold of 1000 points for activating the 88VIP.
"The Taobi Score has been put to good use." A person in the consumer industry with a Black Diamond membership commented. With the launch of the Taobao Super Member system, the Taobi Score system has also been updated. Some people have noticed that their Taobi Score has increased compared to the previous version, and the member interface now directly shows the details of how the score is obtained, making the growth path more transparent and clear.
Comparison table of Taobao Super Member Taobi Scores, from the Taobao rules page
The bigger change is that it has evolved from being just the Taobao Taobi Score to the Alibaba - affiliated Taobi Score. According to the official introduction, consumption on Taobao, Fliggy, and Ele.me can all increase the Taobi Score. It's not hard to predict that this system will be extended to more Alibaba - affiliated apps in the future.
Taobao has repeatedly emphasized that it comprehensively covers all aspects of daily life. The logic behind this is that single - type member benefits are no longer sufficient to attract users. Users now need comprehensive benefits that span multiple life scenarios.
This has become an industry consensus. Almost all platforms are working hard to integrate their internal ecosystems and strengthen external partnerships, aiming to provide users with as many benefits as possible. Nowadays, it's no longer rare to see users draw mobile phone credits on fresh - food apps or exchange for video memberships on bank apps.
Alibaba recognized this early on, as can be seen from the evolution of the 88VIP. Over the past 7 years, the benefits of the 88VIP have only increased. After the launch of the Taobao Super Member system, the 88VIP has added several new benefits on top of the existing ones. Statistics show that the total number of benefits has exceeded 20, while the membership price remains the same.
For the platform, a unified Super Member system has obvious advantages. It increases users' consumption frequency across different scenarios, leading to higher user loyalty and activity, which in turn results in a longer user lifecycle and higher customer lifetime value.
To understand the value of cross - scenario consumption, Costco is a typical example. According to public reports, Costco attaches great importance to meat products because meat is a highly sticky product, and consumers are extremely sensitive to its quality. Unlike highly standardized products like potato chips, there are significant quality differences in meat when purchased from different channels. By excelling in selling such differentiated products, Costco can win consumers' trust and loyalty, thereby increasing the repurchase rate and store stickiness.
This is exactly the embodiment of the "high - frequency drives low - frequency" business logic. By attracting users with high - frequency, highly sticky products, it can drive the sales of low - frequency but high - value products. Costco has built a stable user relationship and strong cross - selling ability through this strategy.
However, for Taobao, the launch of the Super Member system is just the first step. The key next step is how to provide users with more diverse benefits. And "versatility" is precisely Taobao's core advantage and differentiating factor. Based on this, the Taobao Super Member system has got off to a good start.
Fan Lei, General Manager of User Operations at Taotian Group, introducing the Super Member system on - site
02. Understanding the Grand Consumption Platform through the Taobao Super Member system
A user on social media commented: "I knew that Taobao Flash Sale had other intentions. Now that I see the Taobao Super Member system, I understand."
A unified Super Member system corresponds to a comprehensive supply of goods and services: near - field and far - field services, with delivery times of 30 minutes, half a day, or one day; food, retail, travel, entertainment, and various other services... When Taobao can provide comprehensive services to Super Members, it means that its positioning has transformed into a "Grand Consumption Platform".
This positioning became apparent at the beginning of June this year. On June 23rd, Wu Yongming, CEO of Alibaba Group, sent an email to all employees, announcing the merger of Ele.me and Fliggy into Alibaba's China E - commerce Business Group. Fliggy and Ele.me will continue to maintain their corporate management models, but business decision - making and execution will be centralized under the e - commerce business group's goals and unified operations. This is a "strategic upgrade from an e - commerce platform to a grand consumption platform".
Even earlier, Wu Yongming sent an email to all employees, stating that Alibaba Group would make "saturated investments" in several core battles, involving multiple business units to leverage their respective advantages. "The group will formulate collaborative strategies for each business based on the optimal overall value."
Under this strategic collaboration, resources are still being continuously integrated. Recently, some people noticed that the tabs at the top of the Taobao app's homepage have changed. A new Fliggy channel has quietly appeared next to the Taobao Flash Sale and National Subsidy channels.
The Fliggy channel being promoted to the primary entrance, Taobao Flash Sale collaborating actively with Ele.me, and the newly launched Taobao Super Member system all share a common thread - a firm commitment to the grand consumption platform strategy. They aim to optimize and integrate business models from the user's perspective and build a more complete grand consumption service system.
Therefore, it's not hard to understand Alibaba's intention behind the launch of Taobao Flash Sale. It's not just targeting the food delivery or instant retail markets. Instead, it's aiming to build a true grand consumption platform from a higher perspective.
Taobao indeed has the basic conditions to upgrade to a grand consumption platform. Firstly, one of Taobao's greatest advantages is its active user base of over one billion, and these users have clear purposes for visiting and consumption intentions. Secondly, Taobao's most prominent characteristic has always been its rich variety of offerings.
With the inventory resources of 300,000 Tmall brands, the unique supplies from millions of high - quality small and medium - sized merchants, the increasingly diverse local consumption services of Taobao Flash Sale, and the comprehensive travel platform resources of Fliggy, the perception of "the versatile Taobao" has taken root in people's minds and continues to expand. Based on this, it's a natural step for Taobao to evolve into a grand consumption platform.
Now, let's consider the necessity of the Super Member system. The integration of Taobao Flash Sale, Fliggy, and other services not only requires organizational and traffic coordination but also involves the in - depth integration of supply and fulfillment, and most importantly, the unification of user management. A unified Super Member system is the key to coordinating multiple business operations.
During the launch of the Taobao Super Member system, one of the welcome gifts is a lottery for free milk tea vouchers on Taobao Flash Sale. According to feedback on social media, the probability of Platinum - level and above members winning the free vouchers is significantly higher than usual.
This makes people wonder: In the future, for all kinds of activities within the Alibaba ecosystem, whether it's on Taobao, Tmall, Taobao Flash Sale, Fliggy, or Gaode, the Taobao Super Members may be the first to benefit.
Users on social media discussing the welcome gifts
03. The Taobao Super Member system is not just for the platform; it also has a significant impact on merchants
At first glance, the Taobao Super Member system may seem to have little to do with merchants. However, in fact, the upgrade of this member system will have a profound impact on the operations of Taobao merchants.
First, we need to understand the platform's underlying motivation for promoting user activity. An increase in user loyalty and activity means that merchants will have more opportunities to reach their customers. For the platform, user activity is just a number, but the real value lies in how to serve these users together with merchants. Taobao and merchants are on the same boat.
With the Super Member system, Taobao covers all aspects of users' daily consumption. The richer the ecosystem, the stronger the user stickiness, and the more business opportunities and traffic there will be for platform merchants.
An e - commerce KOL shared in a merchant community: "The deepening of the Taobao Super Member system can bring together traffic from different industries, strengthen cross - industry collaboration, and stimulate more in - depth consumption demand."
On a grand consumption platform, merchants from different businesses and industries can achieve cross - traffic in a subtle way. "Ecosystem" may sound like an abstract concept, but the underlying business logic has been well - proven.
In the retail industry, the "beer and diapers" display combination is a classic example. Walmart in the United States found that a large proportion of customers who bought beer also bought baby diapers. Initially, these two seemingly unrelated products actually reflected the needs of a specific group of people (such as fathers shopping after work). By placing them on adjacent shelves, Walmart not only increased the sales conversion rate of both products but also connected the consumption paths of different product categories. More importantly, it gained a better understanding of users' actual needs.
The same applies to Taobao. By promoting the formation of a grand consumption platform, users' seemingly independent consumption behaviors such as shopping, ordering food delivery, and booking flights and hotels on Taobao form a more complete consumption profile. For the platform and merchants, this enables more efficient user retention and value fulfillment.
From this perspective, the grand consumption platform is an inevitable result of Taobao's shift towards a "user - first" orientation.
What's even more promising is that there is still a lot of room for exploration in the Super Member system from a business perspective. For example, merchants can conduct more refined user segmentation and operations. Imagine a simple scenario: Diamond members enjoy a 10% discount. Such targeted benefits are obviously more effective in increasing conversion rates than non - discriminatory coupon distributions.
In the past, merchants mainly focused on two types of users for specialized operations: their own store members and 88VIP users. Now, with the 6 - level member system on the platform, merchants' operational scope has expanded significantly, and their marketing efficiency is also expected to improve.
Behind the refined member operations lies a change in the platform's thinking - instead of relying solely on large - scale promotions or large - value coupons to attract consumers, the platform provides more precise subsidy strategies based on daily consumption scenarios, targeting different product categories and even different stores. In short, it offers users more frequent, precise, and comprehensive discount methods.
After the launch of the Taobao Super Member system, many people compared it with the 88VIP. However, their underlying logics are different. Free membership is just a superficial reason. From the very beginning, the Taobao Super Member system may have emphasized more on regular, daily, weekly, and monthly benefits, rather than concentrating on specific time points.
This is why Taobao designed a general and threshold - free member system with 6 levels. Merchants who can understand and seize this trend are expected to gain more opportunities in the competition.
From Taobao Flash Sale to the Taobao Super Member system, Taobao's strategy is becoming clearer: In the existing market, those who can truly understand users' needs and provide more competitive services will win the competition.
Today's successful enterprises, such as Haidilao and Fat Donglai, have all succeeded by providing high - quality services. Providing value to users, a seemingly simple principle, has long been proven to be the core of business.
In the past 10 years, the internet has evolved from the free era to the paid era, and major platforms have launched their own paid - membership systems. The survival rule at that time was: Learn to manage your existing customers.
In the era of grand consumption, Taobao has offered a new answer: Learn to manage all your customers, not just the paying ones.