Robots carry goods at a warehouse in the Cainiao Future Park in Wuxi city, East China's Jiangsu province, Nov 8, 2018. (PHOTO / FILE / XINHUA)

Cainiao Network, the logistics unit of the Alibaba Group, announced on Wednesday the launch of next-day delivery service for Hong Kong residents, with compensation for late shipping.

Packages dispatched from the Chinese mainland’s Cainiao warehouses can be delivered to Hong Kong’s designated self-pickup points or directly to customers within two days. 

If the delivery exceeds the promised timeframe, Cainiao will automatically pay up to 60 yuan compensation per order.

According to Cainiao Network, its shipping volume to Hong Kong for consolidated packages – which are created by combining multiple small boxes purchased from different online retailers on the mainland – grew by over 20 percent in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year

According to the logistics firm, its shipping volume to Hong Kong for consolidated packages – which are created by combining multiple small boxes purchased from different online retailers on the mainland – grew by over 20 percent in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year.

Around 52.4 percent of Hong Kong residents buy products or services online every week, according to data from Statista Digital Market Outlook. Alibaba’s e-commerce platform Taobao remains the mainstream choice for Hong Kong users.

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Cainiao piloted next-day delivery service with compensation for late shipping in Hong Kong during the 618 shopping festival, which ran on Taobao from the end of May until June 18. 

A spokesperson for Cainiao said that Hong Kong is a crucial part of its global logistics network. 

“Cainiao will accelerate the development of local capabilities in Hong Kong to provide users” with high-quality fulfillment services such as on-time delivery and home delivery,” the spokesperson said. 

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Cainiao first established a self-operated logistics network covering the entire Hong Kong region in 2018. This network includes 11 distribution centers, over 750 self-pickup points, and a system for cross-border trucking and local fleets.

Contact the writer at tianyuanzhang@chinadailyhk.com