Privately-owned Chinese B2C e-commerce website 360buy.com confirmed that it is developing an open platform advertising system for third parties.
The time of the launch and payment model of this system has yet to be decided.
360buy.com told local Chinese media that the new open platform advertising system will be provided to third-party vendors, aiming to help them gain better promotional abilities.
Previous media reports revealed that 360buy.com was facing pressures from performance losses and its IPO plans. Therefore, the new measure is considered a new way to expand its revenue source. Chinese technology website Techweb.com.cn reported that in 2011, 360buy.com's revenue was CNY21.2 billion, representing net losses of about 5%. For the year of 2012, the company is expected to make revenue of CNY45 billion.
The new advertising system reportedly borrows ideas from Taobao.com. Taobao.com previously launched an advertising promotion tool for sellers, who can place their advertisements on Taobao.com and pay per click. This service has become a major income source for Taobao.com.
