If you open mobile Taobao and search "Starbucks", you may see a new page completely different from before.
In the past, when users search an established brand, the corresponding result would be the flagship store. The link to the flagship store will be displayed on the top of the page, with other various relevant goods from different shops listed below.
But since a year ago when users search "Starbucks", instead of its flagship store, its official mini-program "Starbucks China" will appear on the top area of the screen.
Clicking into the "Starbucks China" link on the top of the search result, you can find that the Starbucks China mini-program on Taobao has an identical layout as on Alipay. Alipay has confirmed to a Chinese media Xiaochengxu that the underlying structure of the two is connected.
Starbucks' mini-program on Alibaba can be accessed directly through search results. This means that Taobao has also become a significant portal to Alibaba’s mini-programs ecosystem i...
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