Our online mall platform is made up of a WeChat mini-program mall, iOS and Android clients, a supplier portal and a back-office management system. Beyond standard commerce features it ships with a two-level distribution model, quiz-based points, shopping lotteries and newcomer onboarding — the mechanics that keep members coming back.
1. Overview
2. Logical architecture
3. Physical architecture
Nginx servers
In the physical architecture Nginx primarily provides load balancing and reverse proxying. The Nginx (API) tier distributes mobile member traffic across API servers according to their capacity. The Nginx (web) tier mainly reverse-proxies back-office and supplier users; volumes there are modest, so it is not a performance bottleneck. The Nginx (PC) tier load-balances PC shopping traffic according to the capacity of the PC platform servers.
Mall PC shopping platform
Serves members shopping from desktop browsers. As access logs show growth, servers are added to the cluster.
Mobile API servers
Serve members shopping through the WeChat mini-program and the iOS / Android apps.
Redis servers
An in-memory cache for high-frequency reads such as homepage recommendations and member account data. Redis cuts IO operations and speeds the whole system up. At scale the deployment can move to Alibaba Cloud ApsaraDB for Redis, with clustering or read/write splitting chosen by user volume.
Image storage servers
Store product images plus the system and campaign images that the mini-program and apps load dynamically. As traffic grows, Alibaba Cloud OSS can accelerate image delivery.
MySQL
Stores mall data. A mall must stay online 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, so data reliability is critical: the database should be deployed with hot standby from day one.
Back-office management system
Lets operators review product information, manage orders, publish campaigns and handle financial data.
Supplier portal
Lets each supplier upload product information, ship orders and settle monthly fees.
4. Highlights
Two-level distribution
Start with zero capital and earn a share of platform revenue simply by sharing. When members forward mall links, purchases by their direct and indirect referrals both earn them a share — which lifts willingness to share and member retention.
Poster templates
Operators publish poster templates at intervals; members pick one they like, customise it with their own details and share it.
Shopping lottery
Spending a set amount earns one draw, encouraging larger baskets — with a chance to win the prizes the mall has put up.
Newcomer onboarding
A question-and-answer flow introduces new members to the mall’s campaign rules so they take part with confidence.
Quiz for points
After onboarding, a short quiz reinforces the rules, and points are awarded to reward the effort.
Points mall
Selected products can be redeemed with points. The platform can also run 1-yuan and 9.9-yuan loss-leader items to drive traffic, limited to one purchase per user per day or month.
Special offers
Discounted items are excluded from other campaigns, so the platform never stacks discounts below cost.
5. Who it is for
1. Businesses building an online mall with several suppliers: the platform team runs operations, suppliers provide the goods and ship against member orders.
2. Offline supermarkets moving online to combine physical and online channels and widen their sales reach.
3. Organic growers with a stable customer base who want easier ordering — and a route to acquire new customers.
4. Wholesalers whose business was hit by Taobao, JD and other platforms: build a mall on the strength of channel pricing and reposition the business.
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