E605: Alibaba is Seeing Surging Demand From These 2 Countries

In this episode of The Ecomcrew Podcast, Dave interviews Rah Mahtani from Alibaba.com about the impact of tariffs and trade policies on sourcing trends. Rah discusses the initial flat impact followed by a drop-off with high tariffs, a surge due to a TikTok trend highlighting factories behind major brands, and another surge when a reciprocal tariff pause was enacted. They explore the shift in sourcing behavior, with increased order volumes and a focus on Q4 products during the pause. Rah also highlights Alibaba's commitment to growing its supplier base outside of China, particularly in Vietnam and Mexico, and the increasing demand for nearshoring and diversification of supplier pools. The conversation touches on Alibaba's efforts to support local communities, logistics solutions, and community engagement through events like the CoCreate conference.