Taobao looks to boost young entrepreneurs showing originality talent

Chinese social commerce platform Taobao has inaugurated a new rating system to reward deserving young creators and small enterprises with broader market exposure on the fifth anniversary of the firm’s Taobao Maker Festival.

The exposure is designed to bring more attention to outstanding creativity and better promote products to the platform’s 840 million users.

Taobao’s new system is the latest example of the firm’s content-driven commerce strategy that has been part of its promotional apparatus since 2016, transitioning the platform from being primarily transactionally driven to a broader social-commerce playbook.

“The new rating system promotes and celebrates originality and creativity,” said Alibaba Group CMO Chris Tung. “It will enable merchants to leverage their participation in the Taobao Maker Festival into a source of year-round benefit for growing their business and customers.”

“We continue to leverage our unique content-driven strength to help young entrepreneurs and small businesses win market traction and bringing a better experience to consumers,” said the head of Taobao operations Kaifu Zhang.