Alibaba to test home textile 'try-before-you-pay' sales

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group has teamed up with five leading home textile producers in the country to offer "try-before-you-pay" options to online shoppers on its trading platform Tmall.com starting September.

Tmall.com announced its home textile brand partners on Thursday, which include Luolai, Mendale, Fuanna, Shuixing and Beyond.

The new online shopping program allows customers to try a product and even wash it before deciding whether to keep or return it. The cost of trying the product is covered by freight delivery insurance if a customer decides to return a product, according to a notice posted on Tmall.com on Thursday.

Li Jing, vice president of Mendale, said the try-before-you-pay program means product quality is more important than before, as customers won't place online orders unless they are satisfied with the actual product.

Yang Donghui, honorary president of China Home Textiles Association, said the Internet and big data have required the industry to provide more personalized services.

Figures from the association showed that Tmall.com handled half of the 53 billion yuan (8.6 billion U.S. dollars) in online home textile sales in China in the first 10 months of last year.