The Taobao shopping app, powered by AI, becomes the top-ranked app in Singapore's Apple App Store.

• After introducing an AI-powered English version, Taobao became the top-ranked app in Singapore's App Store, improving accessibility for non-Chinese users.
• This update, which simplifies shopping through AI translations, is currently available in Singapore and Malaysia. However, the experience is not without its imperfections, such as literal translations and currency display issues.
• The global expansion of Alibaba reflects a trend of Chinese companies utilizing Singapore as a testbed to access Western markets, while taking advantage of the region's substantial Chinese diaspora.

The Taobao shopping app of the Chinese e-commerce giant became the top-ranked app on the App Store in Singapore after its English version was released on Tuesday, thanks to AI-powered translations.

According to Sensor Tower, Taobao surpassed all other apps in Apple's Singapore App Store, becoming the top app in all categories as of September 11. On the day the English-language version was launched, the app climbed from fifth to first place in the shopping category.

Since mid-August, the Taobao app had consistently ranked among the top ten shopping apps for iPhone users, according to Sensor Tower.

Alibaba has announced an update that showcases its commitment to providing an English-language interface for its Singapore users, who have demonstrated a strong preference for it, reflecting their diverse language abilities. The update does not provide further details on the AI translation features. Alibaba already has its own AI model.

The new platform improves accessibility for non-Chinese users, eliminating the need for manual translations that previously made shopping less convenient for them.

Alibaba's largest revenue sources, Taobao and Tmall, primarily serve customers in China through a Chinese-language interface. In the quarter ended June 30, their revenue increased by 6% year-on-year to 26.55 billion yuan ($3.65 billion).

In recent years, Alibaba has intensified its efforts to expand its international e-commerce operations through platforms such as Alibaba.com and AliExpress.

Alibaba has announced that Singapore will be the first market to introduce Taobao's new update, alongside Malaysia.

Last year, Singaporean Taobao users created video guides on how to buy clothes, furniture, and lifestyle items from Taobao and posted them on TikTok, a ByteDance-owned app. Some of these videos received over 10,000 views, with one reaching 105,000 views.

Alibaba's recent action demonstrates the increasing tendency of Chinese enterprises to expand overseas and utilize Singapore as a cultural trial to advance their aspirations to penetrate the Western market.

A study by consulting firm Bain and Company revealed that Chinese companies have a significant advantage over South Korean and Japanese companies in the global market due to the large ethnic Chinese diaspora settled outside of mainland China.

David Zehner, senior partner at Bain, stated that many Chinese companies possess ambitious global mindsets and are capable of leveraging their entrepreneurial and fast-innovation skills to create new opportunities abroad.

Almost three-quarters of Singapore's population is of Chinese descent, while about 20% of Malaysia's population is ethnically Chinese.

Not a perfect English-language experience

In Singapore and Malaysia, Taobao users can purchase a variety of products, including electronics, shoes, and kitchen appliances, and receive them at their doorstep for a minimal shipping fee. Prices are displayed in yuan.

Taobao's new version allows for price conversions from yuan to Singapore dollar and includes English product descriptions.

But as of Thursday, the user experience was far from perfect.

Despite changing currency display options, prices were not converted from yuan to Singapore dollars, and translations were quite literal. However, the English translation option was available for product reviews.

Despite the imperfections of the new features, Singapore-based social media users were quick to highlight them.

An individual user posted a TikTok video one day after the announcement, demonstrating how to modify the Taobao app display to English. The video received 947,000 views in a single day.

In the third quarter of 2024, Taobao's average monthly active users in Singapore was 167,000, according to Sensor Tower's report to CNBC.