May 15 (Reuters) - Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba ( BABA )

reported quarterly revenue that missed Wall Street

estimates on Thursday, as the company works on new strategies to

keep consumers spending amid persistent economic weakness and

global trade uncertainties.

U.S.-listed shares of the company fell more than 4% in

premarket trading. They have risen about 58% so far this year.

Chinese shoppers, grappling with a prolonged property crisis

and a cloudy economic outlook, have increasingly become

cost-conscious, prompting deep discounts and rock-bottom prices

to stimulate spending.

That has sparked a price battle among China's largest online

e-commerce platforms including Alibaba ( BABA ), PDD Holdings' ( PDD )

Pinduoduo and JD.com ( JD ), as they jostle for market share.

Alibaba's ( BABA ) rival JD.com ( JD ) on Tuesday beat first-quarter revenue

estimates and said it was seeing strong user growth.

For the March quarter, revenue from Alibaba's ( BABA ) Taobao and

Tmall Group segment, its Chinese e-commerce arm, was up nearly

9% from a year earlier, above market estimates. Alibaba's ( BABA )

earnings statement attributed the growth to strong momentum in

new consumer growth and a continuing increase in orders.

Chinese e-commerce giants have been aggressively expanding

into instant retail, focusing on delivery speeds of 30 to 60

minutes, in their battle for market share.

Both JD.com ( JD ) and Alibaba's ( BABA ) platforms have offered users

incentives including coupons to try their expanded instant

retail and food delivery offerings.

Investors are now shifting focus to the "618" festival, one

of the biggest annual shopping events in China, which culminates

on June 18. Retailers have already started pre-sales.

Alibaba ( BABA ) reported revenue of 236.45 billion yuan ($32.79

billion) in its fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31, compared

with analysts' estimates of 237.24 billion yuan, according to

data compiled by LSEG.

Alibaba ( BABA ) has emerged as a leader in China's competitive AI

race and the tech giant has consistently released new models

throughout the year. It launched Qwen 3 in April, an upgraded

version of its flagship AI model that introduces new hybrid

reasoning capabilities.

Alibaba's ( BABA ) Cloud Intelligence Unit's revenue grew 18% to

30.13 billion yuan.

($1 = 7.2107 Chinese yuan renminbi)