Amazon Joins OpenAI Ad System; Meta Upgrades Live Shopping; Shopee Integrates ChatGPT | Cross-Border E-commerce Weekly Report

[Ebrun Original] Here are the key developments in the cross-border e-commerce sector over the past week:

# Platform Movements #

[Amazon]

1 Amazon Appears in ChatGPT Ad Slots: Tapping into AI Traffic but Not Opening Product Catalog

According to foreign media reports, Amazon has begun placing paid advertisements on OpenAI's ChatGPT platform. Users have discovered that when engaging in shopping-intent conversations, ChatGPT will list relevant product recommendations, followed by a product ad labeled "Top Picks" or "Sponsored." Clicking the ad redirects users to an Amazon store page to complete the transaction, with the entire shopping experience and transaction process controlled by Amazon.

This marks Amazon's first paid promotion as an advertiser within the ChatGPT ecosystem. Industry observers view this move as "symbolically significant," as Amazon is beginning to see conversational AI platforms as traffic sources rather than technological threats.

2 Amazon Launches AI Voice Assistant Alexa in Brazil

Amazon announced the launch of its next-generation, generative AI-powered voice assistant, Alexa, in Brazil. The service is now available for early access to Brazilian users, offered free to invited users during the initial testing phase. Amazon stated that after the early access period concludes, Alexa will remain free for Amazon Prime members.

3 Amazon Brazil Launches Amazon Basics Private Label, Invests BRL 19 Billion to Improve Logistics Network

Just ahead of the 2026 Prime Day, Amazon officially launched its global private label, Amazon Basics, in the Brazilian market. The initial batch includes hundreds of SKUs covering high-frequency categories such as pet supplies, home organization, computer accessories, office supplies, and tools. All related products are stocked in local Brazilian warehouses, with Prime members eligible for same-day or next-day delivery. Brand-exclusive coupons with discounts of up to 15% were also introduced at launch.

[TikTok]

1 TikTok Upgrades AI Marketing Tools

TikTok announced upgrades to its marketing tools for brands and advertisers. The Content Suite has added an AI Search feature powered by Symphony Agent, which supports uploading marketing plans or brand guidelines to automatically filter and match UGC videos, ranking recommendations by performance data. Simultaneously, two creator management features, Projects and Creators, were launched. Projects enables quick outreach to creators who have posted brand-related content and generates collaboration briefs, while Creators is used to track influencers who have collaborated on Spark Ads and build brand ambassador lists.

Meanwhile, the generative AI creative platform Symphony has completed an iteration, forming a complete system comprising Creative Studio, Automation, and API. Symphony Agent can directly generate TikTok-style video ads based on text or reference materials, supporting "Reference to Video," text-to-image-to-video, dubbing with 30 languages, digital avatars, and product virtual humans. It is integrated with ByteDance's Seedance Dreamina 2.0 to enhance product image consistency. All AI-generated content is automatically labeled "AI-generated." Symphony Creative Studio is now available to all TikTok for Business users.

2 TikTok Shop Southeast Asia Cross-Border Direct Shipping Order Fulfillment Timelines Upgraded: 48-Hour Packing, 3-Day Warehouse Arrival

Effective June 18, 2026, TikTok Shop Southeast Asia has standardized the fulfillment timelines for cross-border direct shipping orders from China: Regardless of the pickup mode (door pickup/drop-off at collection points) or warehouse delivery mode, sellers must complete packing within 48 hours of the buyer placing the order and update the status to "Ready to Ship - Awaiting Pickup" in the backend or create a handover document. Additionally, packages must be picked up by the logistics provider or have warehouse scan completed (system will automatically update to "Shipped") within 3 calendar days of the order placement. The 3 calendar days are calculated as natural days ending at 23:59:59, slightly more lenient than a strict 72-hour window. To help sellers adapt to the new rules, the original 50% on-time fulfillment threshold will be temporarily adjusted to 60% during the assessment period from June 22 to July 19.

3 GMV Surges 8x? Sell to 12 Countries with One Click? The Expanding TikTok Shop European Region Becomes a "New Battlefield for Incremental Growth"

The TikTok Shop 2026 Europe New Forces Summit in Shenzhen recently concluded. During the event, the platform released key signals: As of the summit, active merchants in TikTok Shop's European region have surpassed the 100,000 mark, with over 1 million collaborating creators, and daily content submissions also reaching the million level—a mature ecosystem of "people, goods, and content" is now in place.

Focusing on the "old EU4" markets of Germany, France, Italy, and Spain, since its launch in March 2025, the GMV of these four sites has achieved leapfrog growth, surging 8 times year-over-year. There are tens of thousands of active POP sellers covering high-quality products across all categories. The total number of collaborating creators across the network is approaching 500,000, with content potential rapidly transforming into commercial power. In the "newly opened eight countries," TikTok's user penetration rate has reached between 25% and 40%, with rapid growth in the traffic pool and vast potential market space.

[Alibaba]

1 Lazada 6.6 Mega Sale Report: Vietnam Site GMV Grows Nearly 4x Compared to Daily Average

Lazada released data from its 6.6 Super Sale. During this promotion, the GMV of the Vietnam site increased nearly fourfold compared to daily levels, a growth of 276%. In terms of category performance, the top five product categories by sales volume were beverages, smartphones, infant formula and baby food, cosmetics, and computer accessories, covering daily consumption, electronics, and mother & baby care. The Philippines site saw GMV grow 260% compared to daily levels, with electronics being one of the strongest growth categories.

2 AliExpress 618: Brand Sales Grow 90% YoY

During the 2026 overseas 618 promotion, AliExpress brand sales grew 90% year-over-year. 177 brands achieved over 3x growth compared to the March promotion. Brand sales penetration approached 40%, further solidifying AliExpress's position as a new main stage for brand globalization. Additionally, AliExpress released its "Overseas 618 Super Brand List." Over ten brands participating in the Brand "Super Brand Day" secured first place in sales or growth rate within their respective sub-categories. Brands with high-tech content and high added-value, such as cycling wheelset ELITEWHEELS, 3D printing ANYCUBIC, pool robot SEAUTO, and gaming controller GAMESIR, broke through to become new million-dollar champions.

3 Taobao Global Launches Fashion E-Magazine; Celebrity-Style Products Synced to Overseas Sites

Taobao's fashion weekly magazine "NowWear," launched for global consumers, is now officially online. Consumers in Hong Kong China, Taiwan China, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, and other regions can now see it on the Taobao homepage.

According to reports, NowWear selects the most representative popular products for global consumers based on Taobao user search, collection, and purchase behaviors, combined with the latest fashion trends and social hot topics. Each issue focuses on a specific style for screening and recommendations, updated every Thursday.

[Shopee]

1 Shopee Integrates ChatGPT, Covering Southeast Asia and Brazil Markets

Shopee's parent company, Sea, has entered a strategic partnership with OpenAI. Shopee has officially integrated ChatGPT, covering Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan China, and Brazil, becoming the first e-commerce platform to offer ChatGPT shopping services simultaneously in Southeast Asia and Latin America. Users can obtain Shopee product recommendations through natural language conversations in ChatGPT and complete redirect purchases. Meanwhile, the platform will introduce ChatGPT for Business to help sellers automatically generate product detail pages, marketing content, and optimize customer service processes, supported by trial plans and training resources.

2 Shopee Integrates Uber White-Label Delivery in Brazil, Launches Turbo Delivery Service

Shopee has launched an instant delivery service called "Entrega Turbo (Turbo Delivery)" for some sellers in Brazil. The service is powered by the white-label delivery solution Uber Direct from third-party logistics partner Uber, covering 27 states and over 180 cities across Brazil. Consumers can receive their orders within hours after purchase. This model differs from the operation in Southeast Asia, which relies on ShopeeFood's self-built rider network. In Brazil, the market adopts a light-asset "rented capacity" fulfillment strategy to validate instant delivery capabilities.

[Other Platforms]

1 Walmart Acquires Vibe.co for $1.4 Billion to Expand into Streaming Media Advertising

According to foreign media reports, Walmart has announced the acquisition of the French self-serve advertising platform Vibe.co for $1.4 billion. Vibe.co specializes in helping small and medium-sized brands place streaming media ads with ease and precision similar to search and social platforms. It had previously expanded into the US market with extensive outdoor advertising in cities like New York and San Francisco. Post-acquisition, Vibe.co will be integrated into the Walmart Connect business ecosystem alongside smart TV manufacturer Vizio. Vibe.co's technology will be combined with the closed-loop attribution capabilities provided by Walmart's retail sales data, integrating with Walmart's gradually expanding connected TV (CTV) layout. The two parties will jointly build the optimal ecosystem for performance TV advertising.

2 MercadoLibre Expands Off-Platform Advertising, Integrates with TikTok Ecosystem

MercadoLibre's digital advertising business, Mercado Ads, announced three new advertising solutions to further strengthen the connection between media, data, and e-commerce. The new features include: expanding the ad platform to the TikTok ecosystem, launching a content creator network covering Latin America, and introducing new shoppable video ads. In the future, advertisers will not only be able to reach consumers within the MercadoLibre ecosystem but also target users on external channels such as TikTok, Connected TV (CTV), streaming platforms, social media, and instant messaging apps.

3 Shopify Launches Over 150 Updates and Opens Up AI Agent Shopping Capabilities

Shopify released its Spring '26 Edition update, introducing over 150 new features. It officially opened up Agentic Commerce (AI agent shopping) capabilities to developers and fully enabled the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) co-developed with Google. Products are by default integrated into the structured Catalog directory and automatically synced to AI channels like ChatGPT, Copilot, and Google. Merchants can centrally manage AI channel exposure and checkout permissions in the Agentic Storefronts backend, view conversion data, and receive product information optimization suggestions from the AI assistant Sidekick.

# Merchant Circle #

1 Smart Pet Brand CATLINK Report: Sales on First Day of Amazon Prime Day Increase 450% YoY

The 2026 Amazon Prime Day was held from June 23 to June 26, with numerous cross-border merchants participating in the mid-year promotion. The smart pet brand CATLINK set a record with its sales on the first day of the event, growing 450% year-over-year, surpassing the entire 2025 Prime Day period.

It is reported that CATLINK was founded in December 2017. Since the launch of its first product in 2019, it has consistently focused on technological and experiential innovation in smart litter boxes. Over 8 years, it has iterated and optimized over 20 core features, serving over 900,000 cats globally. Last year, by building a dual product matrix of "flagship + entry-level" products, it completed a strategic transformation from a single hit product to a professional category representative.

# Investments & Financing #

1 Airwallex Completes $320 Million Series H Funding, Valuation Reaches $11 Billion

Global financial services platform Airwallex announced the completion of a $320 million Series H funding round. Post-funding, the company's valuation reached $11 billion, a significant increase from its $8 billion valuation in December 2025.

It is reported that this round was led by existing investor Addition, with participation from other existing and new investors including Baillie Gifford, Hummingbird, QED Investors, T. Rowe Price, Hedosophia, Haun Ventures, Washington University in St. Louis, and Amex Ventures. The funds will be used to accelerate product development in financial intelligence and agentic commerce, expand global infrastructure and compliance layouts in new markets, and continue to grow the team to build the next generation of AI-native financial software.

2 Cross-Border E-commerce Service Provider Zixun Technology Rushes for Hong Kong IPO, Generates Annual Revenue of RMB 578 Million with Purple Bird Browser

Zixun Technology (Fujian) Co., Ltd. recently submitted a listing application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. According to the prospectus, Zixun is "an e-commerce technology company dedicated to revolutionizing e-commerce operations by combining industry expertise with AI technology." In 2023, it launched the e-commerce AI application product LinkFox, building an AI agent matrix under the LinkFox brand aimed at optimizing core operational workflows for e-commerce stores.

# Overseas Marketing #

1 Meta Comprehensively Upgrades Live Shopping Tools and Expands Affiliate Marketing Partner Network

Meta announced a series of major updates around advertising products and shopping experiences, with the core focus on further upgrading live shopping tools and expanding its affiliate marketing partner network, aiming to extend in-app shopping features to more scenarios. This follows the addition of affiliate marketing partner brands and upgrades to in-stream shopping features in March this year, marking another systematic push in Meta's social commerce strategy.

2 Meta Doubles Down on WhatsApp Business: Launches Business Agent to Tap into Chinese Companies Going Global

This year, Meta continues to invest in business messaging. At its recently held "Conversations Shenzhen Summit," it officially launched its latest AI-powered business messaging solutions for Chinese companies going global, including Meta Business Agent for SMEs and Meta Business Agent Platform for large enterprises. Meta positions it as an "always-on business partner" for companies: it can be set up in minutes, understands the company's products, inventory, and policies, and engages in natural, back-and-forth conversations in the brand's tone and the customer's local language, helping customers find suitable products, complete purchases, or resolve post-sales issues.

# Industry Policies & Data #

1 Vietnam Launches Official KOL Database Platform to Advance Digital Credit System

The Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information under Vietnam's Ministry of Science and Technology officially launched the country's first official KOL/KOC database platform, "KOL Information Portal and Database System" (kol.gov.vn), on June 17.

Addressing issues in the influencer economy driven by social media platforms like TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube, such as false advertising, exaggerated claims, and difficulties in verifying identity information, the platform allows content creators to voluntarily register and submit identity verification information, professional fields, work experience, and social media account details. The platform will establish a comprehensive evaluation system covering professional capabilities, credibility, and marketing compatibility, providing reference for corporate brands to select collaboration partners and reduce commercial cooperation risks.

2 Awaiting EU Unified Standards: Netherlands Abandons Plan to Independently Levy Handling Fees for Chinese Small Parcels

The Dutch government has officially decided to abandon its plan to independently impose national-level handling fees on cross-border e-commerce parcels from China, opting instead to wait for the implementation of a unified EU-level charging system. This decision was formally confirmed by Dutch State Secretary for Finance, Eelco Erenberg, in a letter to the Dutch House of Representatives, marking the end of over a year of policy discussions.

3 South Africa to Implement PVoC/CoC Inspection on 25 Categories of Imported Goods from China Starting September 20

Starting September 20, 2026, the South African International Trade Administration and the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) will implement a Pre-shipment Verification of Conformity (PVoC/CoC) program for 25 categories of high-risk non-regulated products imported from China. Involved categories include furniture, building materials, solar panels, toys, auto parts, cosmetics, non-pressure cookware, mattresses, and bathroom hardware.

4 Adobe: Forecasts 2026 US Prime Day Sales to Reach $26.3 Billion

Adobe's latest analysis forecasts that online sales during the 2026 Amazon US Prime Day (June 23-26) will reach $26.3 billion, a 9% year-over-year increase, setting a new record and surpassing the combined total of last year's Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Overall discount levels are expected to remain between 12% and 23%, with apparel and electronics potentially reaching up to 23%. Mobile is expected to contribute 54.2% of sales, approximately $14.2 billion. AI shopping assistant-driven traffic is projected to double year-over-year, and BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later) payment volume is estimated to reach $2.04 billion. In terms of consumption trends, under inflationary pressure, users are more inclined to stock up on daily necessities like paper products, groceries, and back-to-school supplies during major promotions rather than making impulse purchases on big-ticket items like TVs.