Xiaohongshu Tests 'Daily Post' Feature; PD Mart Releases First 8 Months Results | Weekly Retail & E-Commerce Roundup

【Ebrun Original】 Here are the key developments in the retail and e-commerce sector over the past week:

# Platform Updates

Alibaba

1. Tmall Launches Token Recharge Center, First to Integrate Alibaba Cloud, Zhipu AI and More

Tmall has officially launched its AI Space Station (Token Recharge Center), where users can directly purchase subscription products from multiple leading large language model (LLM) providers. The page shows that the recharge center aggregates subscription services from top domestic LLM vendors including Alibaba Cloud, Zhipu AI, Kimi, and MiniMax. Available products include periodical Token Plans and Coding Plans, as well as pay-as-you-go recharge options, supporting both card PIN and direct top-up delivery methods.

2. Over 500 FMCG Brands Exceed RMB 100 Million in GMV on Tmall in H1

The Tmall Golden Beauty Awards were recently held in Shanghai. A set of half-year data was released at the event: over the past six months, the number of FMCG brands with GMV exceeding RMB 100 million on Tmall has grown to 500, among which the number of RMB 100 million+ brands achieving double-digit growth rose 45% year-on-year. From January to July this year, leading beauty groups saw strong growth momentum on Tmall, with L'Oréal Group, Estée Lauder Group, and Shiseido Group all posting double-digit growth. Among the top 20 brands by GMV, 15 recorded double-digit GMV growth, with Estée Lauder, SkinCeuticals, Helena Rubinstein, Clarins, and Guerlain seeing GMV rise more than 50% year-on-year.

3. New Developments in Tmall's Auto Sales: Approximately 10 New Models to Launch During Double 11, 3 Brands Confirmed as Partners

Yan Zhong, General Manager of Tmall's Automotive Division, recently stated that during this year's Double 11 shopping festival, Tmall will partner with auto brands to launch approximately 10 new models. Changan Automobile, GAC Group, and Lynk & Co have confirmed partnerships with Tmall Auto to launch customized models while advancing new energy vehicle (NEV) whole-vehicle sales on the platform. Currently, more than 40 auto brands have set up stores on Tmall, and the platform is projected to facilitate approximately 1.3 million whole-vehicle orders in 2025.

4. Fliggy Releases 2026 Summer Travel Report: Inbound Flight Orders Surge 197% YoY

Fliggy recently released its 2026 Summer Travel Report, noting that platform summer travel orders hit a record high. Domestic hotel room nights rose 66% year-on-year, while domestic attraction ticket volumes increased nearly 30% year-on-year. Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou, Chengdu, and Guangzhou ranked as the most popular domestic travel destinations, while South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam topped the outbound travel list. Inbound tourism also remained robust, with a growing number of foreigners visiting China for summer vacation. Fliggy data shows inbound flight orders jumped 197% year-on-year, with Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Beijing, and Shenzhen being the most popular cities among inbound tourists.

5. Taobao Flash Delivery's 'Wait Time Exclusion at Red Lights' Pilot Launches in Jinhua, Zhejiang

Taobao Flash Delivery recently partnered with the Traffic Police Detachment of Jinhua Public Security Bureau in Zhejiang Province to launch the "wait time exclusion at red lights" pilot program, alongside rolling out new intelligent safety equipment. Jinhua is among the first cities in Zhejiang to implement this policy. Under the new mechanism, the time delivery riders spend waiting at red lights will no longer be counted toward their performance assessment. The system will automatically extend delivery time limits, eliminating the need for manual applications or reporting. The first batch of pilots currently covers all signal-controlled intersections in Jindong District, and will be further promoted in the future.

6. Taobao Flash Delivery's 'Food Safety Assurance' Program Enters Trial Operation, 166,000 Merchants Receive Certification

Taobao Flash Delivery's food safety governance initiative "Food Safety Assurance" recently launched trial operations, with 166,000 merchants nationwide having received the certification badge. The program establishes multiple food safety compliance evaluation dimensions, making it easier for qualified high-quality merchants to obtain traffic support and be included in recommended rankings. Specifically, participation eligibility requires complete documentation and passing food safety audits, after which merchants are evaluated across metrics including environmental hygiene, open kitchen implementation, food safety logs, and consumer feedback.

7. Alimama Launches AI Targeting Product 'Wanxiang Dianjing', Unveils Double 11 Merchant Support Plan

At the 2026 Alimama M Summit held on September 2, Alimama announced three core initiatives for merchants during this year's Double 11:

the launch of the new AI targeting product "Wanxiang Dianjing" to help merchants identify potential new customers that cannot be detected via traditional tag-based targeting;

a RMB several-billion platform subsidy for intelligent coupons to accurately drive conversions;

and a full-cycle multi-layer support plan for merchants, with product rebates reaching up to 55%.

"Wanxiang Dianjing" is Alimama's newly launched AI targeting product, which will cover Alimama's core marketing and advertising scenarios during Double 11. By leveraging AI to understand and infer consumer intent, it breaks through the limitations of audience tags to proactively identify potential customers that merchants "would not have expected to make purchases".

During this year's 618 shopping festival, Alimama's "Unbounded Smart Coupons" drove total GMV of over RMB 18 billion. For Double 11, Alimama will allocate an additional several billion yuan in platform subsidies, with AI dynamically determining subsidy tiers based on advertising spend to distribute coupons accurately and drive sales. Meanwhile, the coverage scenarios of intelligent coupons will be fully expanded from keyword targeting to audience targeting and site-wide product promotion, improving conversion rates.

For brand merchants, Alimama has launched the "one strategy per customer" incentive system for Double 11: top brands with ad spend of over RMB 2 million can receive a 55% effect coupon rebate; tiered rebates for in-app information flow advertising offer up to 13% traffic rebate for spend exceeding RMB 5 million; and the first batch of Taobao app splash screen "early lock-in benefits" are available for a limited time until September 20.

For small and medium-sized merchants, the "Double 11 Support Plan" provides more intensive multi-tier monetary subsidies, available continuously from the pre-promotion accumulation period through the peak sales period, with higher subsidies for merchants that meet higher performance targets.

JD.com

1. JD Rolls Out New Merchant Incentive Policy for Pet Daily Necessities Category

Ebrun has learned that JD has recently launched targeted recruitment for high-quality pet industry brand owners, origin factories, industrial belt merchants, and specialized supply chain merchants for its pet daily necessities category. The platform aims to further improve the supply matrix of its pet category to accurately meet the diverse needs of consumers in pet daily consumption scenarios.

The recruitment drive focuses on sub-categories including cat/dog cleaning products, cat/dog household products, cat/dog grooming tools, cat/dog travel supplies, and cat/dog toys. For enterprise merchants that complete store onboarding between July and December this year, JD Pet will provide support including traffic import, resource support, operational guidance, logistics guarantees, and content marketing support.

In terms of event support, key initiatives include exclusive pet daily necessities activity days, brand day exclusive events, flash sale and super subsidy joint promotion campaigns, procurement and sales live streams, and new product support.

Under the new merchant incentive policy, for merchants that onboard and register in the second half of 2026, JD Pet will return corresponding proportions of service fees as advertising virtual funds based on GMV tiers achieved by merchants. This advertising virtual fund will be directly credited to merchants' Jingzhuntong accounts. For example, merchants with monthly GMV of RMB 5,000 or more but less than RMB 10,000 will receive a 30% service fee rebate; those with monthly GMV exceeding RMB 30,000 will receive a 100% rebate of operational support service fees.

2. JD Discount Supermarket Enters Tangshan and Handan for the First Time, Accelerating Grid Layout in North China

JD Discount Supermarket has expanded its national footprint with two new locations, marking the brand's first entry into Tangshan and Handan in Hebei Province. Both stores are located in core commercial areas of their respective cities: Tangshan World Expo Plaza is located in the core business district of Xinhua Road in Lunan District, one of the commercial landmarks of Tangshan's main urban area; the Handan Wu'an store is located on Nanguan Street Commercial Pedestrian Street, which has a mature commercial atmosphere and dense foot traffic. Both locations are in core urban consumption areas, enabling rapid reach to target customer groups.

The launch of the Tangshan and Handan stores marks a key step for JD Discount Supermarket to transition from "scattered openings" to "connected network" in the Hebei market. This also means the store density of JD Discount Supermarket in Hebei has further increased, accelerating its grid layout in the North China region.

3. JD Supermarket Sees 15% YoY User Growth in H1

On September 3, JD Supermarket's 12th Anniversary Press Conference was held in Beijing. Data shows that in the first half of 2026, JD Supermarket recorded double-digit revenue growth and a 15% year-on-year increase in user count, with steady growth in market share. Meanwhile, through in-depth cooperation with brands, JD Supermarket added more than 10 brands with annual GMV exceeding RMB 100 million, over 100 best-selling products with sales exceeding RMB 10 million, and over 1,000 best-selling products with sales exceeding RMB 1 million in the first half of the year.

Niu Yinghua, Vice President of JD Group and President of JD Retail's FMCG Business Group, announced JD Supermarket's four new growth strategies at the conference, which will focus on co-creation of products, users, channels, and efficiency to collaborate with brands in creating more high-quality, affordable products.

Douyin

1. Douyin Surpasses WeChat in Total User Time for First Time in July; Hongguo Short Drama DAU Doubles

Nomura Securities' monthly China internet tracking report (July) shows that Douyin's share of total user time exceeded WeChat for the first time in July. Douyin's monthly usage time rose 29% year-on-year, while WeChat's grew 3%. (Related reading: Douyin Surpasses WeChat in Total User Time for First Time in July, Hongguo Short Drama DAU Doubles)

However, in terms of daily active users (DAU), WeChat remains China's largest app with 931 million DAU, compared to Douyin's 714 million. Douyin's DAU grew 19% year-on-year in July, while average daily time per user (DTSD) increased 8%.

The core driver behind ByteDance's growth in user time is Hongguo Free Short Drama. Currently, Hongguo Short Drama has 168 million DAU, up 107% year-on-year, exceeding the combined DAU of the four major long-video platforms. Meanwhile, monthly usage time of long-video platforms including iQiyi, Tencent Video, Youku, and Mango TV all declined, ranging from 24% to 47%.

2. Douyin E-Commerce: Nearly 600 Million Orders of Kitchen Life Industrial Belt Products Sold Cumulatively This Year

Douyin recently released the 2026 Douyin E-Commerce Kitchen Life Consumption Trend Report. The report shows that kitchen consumption has continued to expand this year, with nearly 600 million orders of kitchen life industrial belt products sold cumulatively on Douyin E-Commerce. The average daily number of consuming users rose 30% year-on-year, and the average daily number of actively selling products increased 89% year-on-year. The number of newly released short videos related to kitchen life grew 65% year-on-year, and GMV driven by merchant short videos rose 74% year-on-year. More than 800,000 live streams have recommended kitchen products, and the number of merchants with store live stream GMV exceeding RMB 1 million increased 35% year-on-year.

Kuaishou

1. 2026 Kuaishou Guanghe Conference Announces Quality Content Standards: Community Sense, Professional Excellence, Industrial Capability

At the 2026 Kuaishou Guanghe Creators Conference, the official disclosed that over the past year, more than 270 million users have expressed themselves by posting works on the platform. The number of creators who have been posting works continuously for more than 10 years exceeds 17 million. The content ecosystem has also diversified across regions, vertical circles, and specialty categories. Currently, the platform has 632 interest circles and 4,112 segmented interest tags. More accurate and sticky circle relationships are being converted into operational value for creators: on Kuaishou, creators focusing on vertical fields earn 2.2 times the average monthly income of creators relying on general traffic. (Related reading: Cheng Yixiao: Kuaishou's Biggest Future Creation Dividend Will Come from Deep Cultivation of Diverse Characteristic Ecosystems)

Cheng Yixiao, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Kuaishou Technology, stated at the conference that no matter how Kuaishou's product and community forms evolve, content — especially characteristic content — will always be the most solid foundation of the Kuaishou community. "We hope every type of interest can find its exclusive audience, exclusive circle, and exclusive business opportunities on Kuaishou. Kuaishou's biggest future creation dividend comes from deep cultivation of our diverse characteristic ecosystem."

Xiaohongshu

1. Xiaohongshu Responds to 'Daily Post' Feature Launch: Aimed at Encouraging More Ordinary Users to Authentically Share Daily Lives

Xiaohongshu is currently testing the "Daily Post" feature, which allows posts to be set to "visible for 3 days", displayed separately from other Xiaohongshu notes on a user's homepage, and converted into regular notes at any time. In response to this news, Xiaohongshu stated: "The platform recently launched the daily post feature, which is still in internal testing. It aims to encourage more ordinary users to authentically share their daily lives."

2. Xiaohongshu Integrates AI Search Businesses: 'Wen Yi Wen' Merged with 'Dian Dian'

Xiaohongshu has recently completed internal integration of its AI search business. The original in-site AI search product "Wen Yi Wen", which was positioned to enhance search results and output summaries based on UGC notes, has been merged with "Dian Dian", a full-scenario conversational lifestyle AI assistant, and the integrated product has completed full grayscale rollout. The original "Wen Yi Wen" brand has been officially discontinued, and the platform's external identity for AI search products has been unified and upgraded to "Dian Dian". "Dian Dian" will have both search and multi-turn conversation capabilities to further improve user search experience.

3. Xiaohongshu Cracks Down on AI-Generated False Content Related to Medical Aesthetics, Homestays and More

Xiaohongshu's official account "Shu Guanjia" released the Announcement on Governance of AI-Generated False Content Related to Medical Aesthetics, Homestays, etc., stating that the platform recently found that some accounts use AI to generate false experience notes, forge real scenes with AI-generated or spliced images, and fabricate usage experiences such as store visits, accommodation, medical treatment, and beauty services, misleading user decisions. From June to August this year, the platform removed nearly 120,000 false notes created and published using AI, removed over 4,000 various non-compliant notes in the medical aesthetics sector per day on average, and banned more than 4,200 non-compliant accounts during this period.

Bilibili

1. Bilibili and NBA China Announce Official Partnership

NBA China and Bilibili recently announced a deep cooperation, under which Bilibili will become the "Official Premium Content Community for NBA China". As part of the partnership, the NBA and all 30 league teams will open official accounts on Bilibili to provide fans with rich and diverse content, including game highlights, post-match interviews, training behind-the-scenes, and player features. In addition, NBA China will provide selected Bilibili creators with access to behind-the-scenes visits to high-profile events such as conference finals and NBA China Games, and allow creators to participate in co-creation activities and produce NBA-related content by obtaining official NBA content and material authorization.

Meituan

1. Meituan Drone Expands Service Coverage to 5 Kilometers with Densified Shenzhen Flight Network

Meituan Drone has upgraded the hub-and-spoke route points for single-thread delivery to flight network nodes in Shenzhen for the first time, integrating them into the Longhua District flight network that has been in operation for six months. This has rapidly densified the Longhua District flight network to 15 points, extending the delivery range for most merchants via drones from the original 3 kilometers to 5 kilometers, expanding the drone service radius by approximately 67%. This approach of "upgrading existing points while deploying new ones" will continue to be rolled out in the Nanshan District flight network. Currently, 4 points in the Nanshan District flight network are officially in operation, and will be rapidly expanded to nearly 30 points in the next two months.

Dewu

1. Dewu Temporarily Reduces Commission Rate for Figure Model Category to 5%, Sets Cap at RMB 249

Dewu has launched a limited-time commission rate reduction policy for domestic mecha models and leading figure model brands in the figure model category, with a 5% commission rate for direct brand shipping. The policy is valid from August 6, 2026 to December 31, 2026. (Related reading: Dewu Temporarily Reduces Commission Rate for Figure Model Category to 5%, Sets Cap at RMB 249)

Ebrun has learned that over 160 brands are eligible for this policy, including GOOD SMILE COMPANY, Hot Toys, SEGA, Ling Cage, Kojima Productions, BANPRESTO, FURYU, alphamax, Wanxiang Jubian, and DORIS Doll. The adjusted platform basic service fee for these targeted brands is 5% (for direct brand shipping), with a cap of RMB 249 and a minimum of RMB 2.

# Brand News

1. PD Mart Releases Latest Performance: Cumulative Sales Reach RMB 19.515 Billion from January to August

Yu Donglai, founder of PD Mart, recently released the latest operating data. From January to August this year, PD Mart Group's cumulative sales reached RMB 19.515 billion, up 26.98% year-on-year. Based on the current growth rate (PD Mart's 2025 sales were RMB 23.531 billion), and considering that PD Mart's Zhengzhou store will also open this year, the company's full-year 2026 sales are expected to exceed RMB 30 billion. By business segment, as of August 31, 2026, the supermarket segment led with cumulative sales of RMB 10.736 billion, accounting for 55% of the group's total sales.

2. Lu Weibing: Mijia Brand Officially Enters Europe on a Large Scale

On the eve of IFA 2026, Xiaomi held a global launch event, where Lu Weibing, Partner, President of Xiaomi Group, and President of the Mobile Phone Division, delivered a speech. Lu stated that Xiaomi's smart home and home appliance business accelerated globalization last year, continuing to expand into the European market. This year, Xiaomi's Mijia brand is making its debut at IFA, with a wide range of products including Xiaomi's large home appliances, marking its official large-scale entry into Europe. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Mijia brand. To date, Mijia covers over 130 categories and more than 2,000 SKUs, serving 110 million users worldwide.

3. Pop Mart's H1 Net Profit Reaches RMB 5 Billion, Overseas Revenue Down 11.1% YoY

Pop Mart recorded revenue of RMB 17.173 billion in the first half of 2026 (up 23.8% year-on-year), with net profit attributable to shareholders reaching RMB 5.038 billion (up 10.1% year-on-year). However, overseas business revenue fell from RMB 5.593 billion to RMB 4.972 billion (down 11.1% year-on-year). By segment, Asia-Pacific online revenue plummeted 39.8%, Americas online revenue fell 45.6%, and European online revenue dropped 59%. Offline channels saw opposite growth: Asia-Pacific offline revenue rose 16.2%, with the number of stores expanding from 69 to 90. Against the backdrop of weakening external traffic dividends, Pop Mart is gradually shifting its overseas business focus to physical touchpoints. In line with this strategy, Pop Mart has officially introduced its POP BAKERY concept store — which was validated through over 30 pop-up events in China and launched in Aranya in April — to Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore.

4. Lilanz Releases 2026 H1 Report, Revenue Up 19.5% YoY

According to the financial report, Lilanz's H1 revenue reached RMB 2.065 billion, up 19.5% year-on-year, marking its best half-year performance since listing. Revenue from its main series was RMB 1.342 billion, up 12.7% year-on-year, while revenue from the light business and other series reached RMB 723 million, up 34.7% year-on-year, accounting for 35% of the group's total revenue. New retail sales revenue rose 39% year-on-year, with new series and new channels serving as core growth drivers.

In terms of product layout, Lilanz has introduced century-old golf brand Munsingwear to complement its high-end scenario offerings. In overseas business, Lilanz opened 5 stores in Malaysia in the first half of the year, while advancing registration work in the Philippines and Vietnam markets. Overseas revenue during the period reached RMB 5.9 million, up 1,080% year-on-year.

On the channel side, Lilanz is advancing direct-to-consumer (DTC) transformation: the number of DTC stores for its main series increased from 284 at the end of 2025 to 367, reducing distribution layers and cutting accounts receivable turnover days from 37 to 31.

5. Mao Geping's H1 Revenue Reaches RMB 3.267 Billion

Mao Geping recently released its half-year report, recording revenue of RMB 3.267 billion during the period, up 26.2% year-on-year, with net profit reaching RMB 807 million, up 20.3% year-on-year.

According to the financial report, online channel revenue was RMB 1.727 billion, up 33.2% year-on-year, of which online direct sales revenue was RMB 1.346 billion and online distributor revenue was RMB 382 million. Offline channel revenue reached RMB 1.468 billion, up 19.9% year-on-year, of which offline direct sales revenue was RMB 1.36 billion. The average sales per counter rose from RMB 2.8 million in the same period last year to RMB 3.3 million.

By category, Mao Geping's makeup and fragrance categories both grew by more than 30%, while skincare revenue reached RMB 1.212 billion, up 11.5% year-on-year. Among core products during the period, retail sales of the luxury caviar mask exceeded RMB 1 billion, retail sales of the light-feeling soft yarn setting powder exceeded RMB 300 million, and retail sales of the luxury nourishing black cream and luxury caviar cushion both exceeded RMB 200 million. While total sales of the three categories grew year-on-year, the average prices of makeup and skincare products remained stable with slight increases.

In terms of user data, Mao Geping has approximately 18.64 million registered online members with a 24.8% repurchase rate, and approximately 7.44 million registered offline members with a 30.6% repurchase rate.

In overseas business, overseas product sales revenue in the first half of the year reached RMB 6.4 million, up 457.4% year-on-year. Mao Geping recently entered Hong Kong's Times Square in Causeway Bay, and together with its previously opened counter at Harbour City, now has two direct counters in Hong Kong.

R&D investment for Mao Geping achieved double-digit growth in the first half of the year, making it one of 10 domestic listed beauty companies out of 12 that reported year-on-year growth in R&D investment.

6. Dreame Responds to Abandoning Mass Vehicle Production: Auto Business Merged into Industrial Research Institute, MOVA Project Not Fully Discontinued

On September 1, in response to rumors that Dreame Technology's car manufacturing project had been terminated, a relevant person from Dreame Technology stated that the company has abandoned mass production plans for its automotive business and will only carry out corresponding technology reserves. "Automotive-related business will be merged into the company's industrial research institute for management. In the future, we will focus on the exploration and research of general technologies, and continue to promote the implementation of relevant technology industry-investment-research integration."

# Other

1. National Bureau of Statistics: China's August Official Manufacturing PMI Reads 49.8

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) stood at 49.8% in August, up 0.6 percentage points from the previous month, indicating an improvement in the sector's prosperity level. By enterprise size, the PMI for large enterprises was 50.6%, up 1.1 percentage points from the previous month and above the critical point; the PMI for medium-sized enterprises was 49.4%, down 0.3 percentage points from the previous month and below the critical point; the PMI for small enterprises was 47.9%, up 0.5 percentage points from the previous month and below the critical point.

This article was first published on the official Ebrun website.