There are two familiar types of short videos on Taobao: the homepage short video and the short video for "recommendation". The third type of short video will be coming, which is short videos on the search bar. 

For example, the search results of some products are not only displayed in pictures and texts but also in the form of short videos when conducting keyword searches on Taobao APP. Moreover, it is not only a short video of the main image but a short video information flow that is similar to the style of Douyin and Kuaishou by sliding up and down, with links to products in the lower left corner.

In the traditional display interface, the product is displayed by the "main image + name + price + store name", forming a most basic sales unit. But now, the short video information flow is integrated to form a "short video + product link" sales unit. Unlike traditional displays, these short videos are more about product reviews and unboxing.

The short video is expanding its role in E-commerce

From graphics to the short video, the change in the presentation of search results responds to the change in consumer habits. Nowadays customers are more focused on their shopping experiences. They are seeking full-round services rather than a simple transaction.

Now, merchants and brands have integrated content community and video streaming into the sales process to encourage shoppers to “hang out” on the app. Short video is a powerful tool to show products intuitively and provide further engagement with customers. Particularly, the information density of the short video is higher than purely texts and pictures. It allows customers to know more about products through video contents such as product reviews before making decisions, and thus attracting users to browse the platform for longer.

According to the "2022 China Mobile Internet Semi-annual Report", as of June this year, the total time spent by short video users accounted for nearly 30% of the time spent by China's mobile Internet users. For Alibaba, which concern more about the retention of its 1-billion domestic consumers and ARPU growth, the short video field is undoubtedly an important field to work on.