"When we were young, our parents raised us hand in hand. When we grow up, we hope to help them find things they like." "Oil and rice are heavy items. After our parents buy them online, the courier can deliver them to our home, which is more convenient." Many young people familiar with online shopping said.

On February 1, Taobao will officially launch the "family account", which aims to build a new user relationship so that every family can share easily. Users can connect their elders, children, spouses and lovers at home by adding a family account, so as to achieve smooth communication and convenient payment for the whole family. "Treating every consumer equally, paying attention to the different needs of different groups of people, and allowing more people to enjoy the dividends of the Internet, this is the original intention of Taobao to create a family account." Ding Jian, head of Taobao's interactive business, said.

One-click to wake up children

After binding a family account, the elders can wake up their children on Taobao with one click

How to use Taobao's family account? According to reports, first, the child user opens "My Taobao" and selects "Family Account". Users can choose to create a "father" or "mother" role relationship, or invite parents to register, or directly bind their parents' Taobao accounts. Secondly, after completing the family relationship binding, the parents' mobile Taobao will switch to an exclusive page with floating child user avatars. In any scenario, parents can wake up their children with one click, initiate chats, phone calls, and send product links to communicate and make purchase decisions. Finally, in the payment process, parents can also choose "pay on my behalf" or "close payment" to complete the purchase without binding a bank card.

Jishan, head of Taobao's interactive business, said that in addition to reconstructing the product framework, the changes brought to users by Taobao's family accounts are also reflected in other dimensions. For example, family accounts will screen out exclusive high-quality discounted products, preferential rights and interests for specific groups of people. "More daily necessities, more products that parents will buy frequently. For example, Tmall Supermarket's 1-hour delivery service will appear on the homepage of parents' mobile Taobao." Jishan said.

Protect parents' online shopping

Jishan said that compared with young people, the elderly may still have some shortcomings in online shopping knowledge, and ensuring the safety of online shopping for the elderly is also an issue that needs special attention.

"First, we hope that on the consumer side, children will become the first teacher of their parents' online shopping and help the elderly identify some products; at the same time, in the process of reverse transactions, such as returns and refunds, children can also intervene in the transaction process and assist their parents to complete it."

Secondly, on the platform side, whether it is shopping guides or searches, Taobao has sorted out the product pool behind it and recommended algorithms. "I hope that the products we recommend to the elderly are more guaranteed. We will use technical means to put some products that may hide risks in the back." Jishan said.

Third, on the service side, in order to serve the elders well, the Taobao customer service team has set up a special team and response plan to escort novices to "go online".

Taobao product managers and operations staff guide the elders to experience the "family account" product

Strive for the silver economy

In fact, with the rise of the silver economy, parents' online shopping needs have been developing rapidly. According to data from the Ministry of Civil Affairs in 2017, the population over 60 years old in China is as high as 230 million, and the proportion of them using mobile phones exceeds 80%, many of which are smartphones.

According to data from Alibaba Group, the "shopping army" over 50 years old in China is already very large, with nearly 30 million on Taobao Tmall alone. Among them, the 50-59-year-old pre-retirement group is the main force, accounting for as much as 75%, most of whom are parents born in the 1990s and 1980s. In 2017, the average online shopping consumption of consumers over 50 years old nationwide was nearly 5,000 yuan, and the average number of goods purchased reached 44 items.

"In 2018, Taobao will carry out refined operations for various groups of people, and the family account is a start. In the future, we hope to make Taobao simpler and more friendly to meet the online shopping needs of more elders. At the same time, we also hope that Taobao can become a bridge to make the family relationship between children and parents closer and more willing to share." Ding Jian said.

After experiencing Taobao's "family account", Liu Yanping, a 64-year-old retired teacher, said, "The family account created by Taobao touched me deeply. Nowadays, young people work at such a fast pace that they don't have many opportunities to spend time communicating with their parents. Taobao encourages the elderly and young people to come together. Whether it is children buying Taobao for their parents or parents buying Taobao for their children, it is a manifestation and continuation of family affection."