Taobao opens first physical furniture store in Hong Kong

Chinese e-commerce giant Taobao on Feb 22 launched its first physical store in Hong Kong, a furniture and lifestyle shop co-run with home repair platform Papabo.

The opening of the 2,322 sq m store PapaHome – about one-third the size of a soccer field – in China Hong Kong City shopping mall in Tsim Sha Tsui attracted snaking queues of between 100 and 300 people, local media reported.

Visitors got to browse more than 10,000 furniture products from 100 Taobao merchants and physically test out different display pieces, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.

The physical store has another perk: in-house artificial intelligence which measures shoppers’ heights and body shapes before offering advice on customising their furniture.

But the buying process itself remains unchanged. Instead of bringing home their purchases immediately, shoppers must place their orders through Taobao’s shopping platform and wait for them to be delivered.

Several shoppers that Hong Kong news outlet Sing Tao spoke to said they felt the prices at the physical store were not particularly affordable and fell within the usual range of furniture prices, even though the Taobao online platform is a go-to for low-cost furnishings.

A shopper, who identified himself only as James, told SCMP that he has never bought furniture on Taobao, but was planning to buy a new television console or bed at the physical store.

“It feels better to shop at the physical store. You can see and touch the furniture, you can feel the texture and quality,” he said.