Alibaba revenue grows 59% in June quarter

The Alibaba Group reported a 59% revenue growth (reaching $4.84 billion) for the quarter ended June 30.

Revenue from its China retail marketplaces ($3.51 million), including Taobao and TMall, also rose 49% from a year earlier.

It is, however, in the area of mobile that the e-commerce giant had made huge strides.

Alibaba Group’s Chief Financial Officer Maggie Wu reported that mobile monetization – the commission the group charges for each transaction –  reached 2.80% this quarter, surpassing the non-mobile monetization rate for the first time since the company commenced mobile monetization in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Mobile monthly active users (MAUs) on the China retail marketplaces also grew to 427 million in the month ended June 30, compared to 410 million in the month ended March 31. This represents a net addition of 17 million MAUs in the quarter and a 39% increase from 307 million a year earlier.

The company attributes its strong growth in mobile users to the increased adoption of mobile devices by consumers as the primary method of accessing its platforms. Daily and monthly active users ratio of the Taobao App, for example, was 40% in June 2016.

Joe Tsai, co-founder and vice chairman of Alibaba Group, said during the earnings conference call, that the company overall growth was unprecedented since Alibaba became a public company.

He noted the tremendous value proposition of the e-commerce platform with 434 million highly engaged customers in China that even its China retail marketplaces have done well against the backdrop of economic headwinds and reduced expectations from the industry.

He said features that focus on community, sharing,  originality, immediacy, and data-driven customization are capturing the imagination of today’s generation of young consumers. Around 75% of users on the Taobao app, for example, are below 35 years of age.

“Taobao has fully evolved from a transactional platform to a social commerce platform driven by China millennials,” said Daniel Zhang, Chief Executive Officer of Alibaba Group. “Mobile Taobao enjoyed daily active users (DAU) versus MAU ratio of 40% in June, which points to a high degree of stickiness among our mobile user base.”