Alibaba joins hands with Australia’s Bigcommerce to lure in more merchants globally

If you earn a living off of your own online web store, Alibaba wants your business. The Chinese ecommerce behemoth is partnering with Bigcommerce, a service provider for online retailers, to help international web vendors source products from Alibaba.com, the company’s flagship business-to-business marketplace.

The nature of the partnership is promotional, for the most part, but it could nevertheless prove beneficial to both firms. A new page under bigcommerce.com/alibaba provides Bigcommerce customers and potential customers with links directing to Alibaba.com explainer pages that instruct users how to navigate through the massive shopping site. Bigcommerce shop owners will receive access to Alibaba’s payment protection program, quality control inspectors, and quote services.

“With this Alibaba.com partnership, we are helping our merchants grow their online businesses every step of the way — from sourcing to selling,” said Eddie Machaalani, co-founder and CEO of Bigcommerce, in an official statement. “Alibaba.com provides access to the world’s largest network of suppliers and manufacturers of goods that will help our merchants build their online presence and expand into new revenue opportunities.”

Alibaba’s consumer-facing ecommerce business remains largely focused on mainland China, with some key exceptions. Its AliExpress SMB-to-consumer site is popular in Russia and Brazil, and it owns a new California-based marketplace called 11 Main. But standalone online vendors who use services like Bigcommerce, Shopify, and Squarespace are growing more commonplace in North America and Europe. These players provide the Chinese giant with another channel through which it can expand outwards.