SHANGHAI – The Wall Street Journal reports that e-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and brick-and-mortar retailer Bailian Group are forming a partnership that “underscores the continued importance of traditional retailing.”

“The companies will leverage the power of big data to achieve integration between offline stores, merchandise, logistics and payment tools with the ultimate aim of elevating efficiency and overall consumer experience,” Alibaba Group said.

The Journal notes that Bailian Group operates more than 4,700 supermarkets, convenience stores and department stores. Analyst Lei Yang of CIMB Group told the news source that traditional retail still maintains the bulk of consumer spending in China, but that the partnership gives Alibaba access to Bailian’s customers.

Alibaba will also install its Alipay mobile payment system in Bailian’s stores, which will help the online retailer expand its competitive edge in China’s online payment race. Yang told the Journal that Bailian has been losing market share and can use access to Alibaba’s technology to expand online.

“They also don’t have a strong online retail platform, so cooperating with Alibaba, which is the strongest e-commerce platform in China with a long-term and good track record on how to attract customers and good logistics network, would help them improve their market share,” Yang told the news source.