E-Commerce Morning Brief: Douyin Mall Opens Recruitment for Mid-Autumn Festival Promotion; TikTok Shop Launches Two-Way Cross-Border Sales Between EU and UK

News 1: Douyin Mall Kicks Off Recruitment for Mid-Autumn Festival Promotion, With Platform Fully Funded Consumption Voucher Subsidies

Recently, Douyin Mall has launched the investment promotion for its 2026 Mid-Autumn Reunion Season promotion. The campaign will go live on September 19 and run through September 24. Merchants can choose to sign up for either an instant discount or a direct price reduction for single items. The instant discount offers a unified 15% off based on the quotation submitted by merchants, with all discounts funded by the merchants themselves. Products that successfully sign up for the corresponding promotion schemes will also be eligible for consumption voucher subsidies fully funded by the platform.

In terms of traffic, the platform will adopt a dual-drive strategy of live streaming and short videos. Merchants and influencers participating in the "Value Categories & Ten Thousand Stores Great Discount" and "Value Super Group" programs can unlock incentives such as Store Free Push and Ocean Engine Cashback Red Packet based on incremental GMV. Meanwhile, the platform will open the search slot placement feature, where products with high search demand will receive additional search exposure. A "search after view" keyword cultivation program will be launched, with relevant toolkits available for free.

On the product side, resources will be tilted toward categories fitting the Mid-Autumn consumption mindset. Categories such as apparel, footwear and bags, food and fresh produce, and alcohol will receive platform subsidies, fixed display positions and other resources. In-stock products that have signed up for the promotion schemes will get more exclusive exposure, and the platform will provide layered support for products from multiple dimensions including traffic, communication, subsidies, exposure and promotional atmosphere.

In addition, merchants can participate in marketing IPs such as Super Brand Day and Mall New Arrival Launch, and enjoy traffic support for advertising placements. Monthly installment payment services will be available with preferential rates. For new merchants, the platform will lower the participation threshold, launching zero-threshold entry and growth incentive packages to reduce the cost of joining the promotion.

News 2: Flower Knows Announces Launch of First Global Flagship Store, Advancing Offline Layout Following Proya Acquisition

Recently, beauty brand Flower Knows officially announced that its first global brand flagship store is about to open. Located at 520 Middle Huaihai Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai, the store is expected to officially open this autumn. Notably, beauty collection store chain WOW COLOUR also released the news simultaneously, suggesting it may cooperate with Flower Knows to operate the store.

Previously, Flower Knows' offline expansion at home and abroad mainly relied on entering beauty collection stores. As of 2025, Flower Knows has entered more than 2,000 beauty collection store counters in China, covering channels including WOW COLOUR, Sanfu, and HERA. The brand first entered WOW COLOUR's offline collection stores as early as 2018.

The launch of this global flagship store is an important move following Proya's acquisition of Flower Knows. In May 2026, Proya acquired a 12.55% stake in Flower Knows for 351 million yuan, bringing its total shareholding in the brand to 51%. According to the acquisition announcement, Flower Knows achieved total revenue of 1.726 billion yuan and net profit of 280 million yuan in 2025, with a net margin of 16.22%. In the first quarter of 2026, the brand posted revenue of 675 million yuan and net profit of 155 million yuan, with its net margin rising to 22.96%.

News 3: CHAGEE Launches Cross-Border Sales of Tea Eggs, Priced at 5 Yuan per Unit A La Carte

Recently, CHAGEE announced on social media that tea eggs have been officially launched at 7 stores in Shanghai, including its Shanghai Jin Mao Tower store, Shanghai Changning CapitaLand Raffles City store, and Shanghai Tongji University Affiliated Pulmonary Hospital store. Named "Baiwu Hongchen Tea Egg", the product is priced at 5 yuan per unit when ordered a la carte. If purchased with a full-price drink, the add-on price is 2.5 yuan. Before 10:30 a.m. daily, customers can enjoy a 20% discount on the set meal combining designated breakfast drinks with a tea egg.

News 4: Amap Responds to "Development of Minefield Ranking" Rumor: Relevant Product Is Indeed Under Development

Recently, in response to online rumors that "Amap is developing a 'minefield ranking' product that will display store pitfalls based on real user reviews", Amap confirmed that a relevant product is indeed under development, with specific functions and presentation forms subject to the final launched version.

News 5: TikTok Shop Launches Two-Way Cross-Border Sales Between EU and UK, With Pilot in September and Full Launch in October

TikTok Shop has officially rolled out a two-way cross-border sales function between the European Union and the United Kingdom, with a pilot program for some EU sellers scheduled to launch on September 21 and full rollout on October 19. After the function takes effect, sellers in eight markets including Belgium, Germany, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain will be able to supply goods to UK consumers, while UK sellers will be able to sell to 12 EU countries covered by the Sell Across Europe network. In terms of access conditions, sales from the EU to the UK will only support the merchant fulfillment model, where sellers must independently choose carriers, bear shipping costs and handle logistics disputes on their own.

News 6: Amazon Upgrades WhatsApp Shopping Service, Launches AI Shopping Guide Feature

According to foreign media reports, Amazon has recently rolled out an upgraded WhatsApp shopping service for consumers. After receiving a message from Amazon, users can reply to inquire about discounts, request product recommendations, and search for related products, and then be redirected to the Amazon app or official website to complete the order.

Practical tests showed that when asking the service for the best mosquito repellent spray, the system will first confirm whether the use scenario is household, for horse fly repellent, or for personal protection. After the household scenario is selected, it will provide multiple options, including products from two leading brands, and then proactively ask whether the user needs pet-safe options, discounted options, or plug-in alternatives.

News 7: Amazon to Launch Two China-US Air Freight Products, With Transit Times of 7-10 Days and 11-15 Days Respectively

Amazon Global Logistics is about to launch two China-US air freight products, namely the Standard and Economy tiers. Amazon revealed that the estimated transit times for the two products from departure in China to arrival at Amazon's US fulfillment centers are 7 to 10 calendar days and 11 to 15 calendar days respectively.

The Standard tier relies on fixed flights from Shanghai and Hong Kong to the US, while the Economy tier is shipped via fixed flights from Shanghai and Shenzhen. Both tiers adopt an instant unloading model, where goods can be unloaded directly after arriving at the destination port warehouse to shorten the waiting time for warehousing.

News 8: Cainiao Cross-Border Logistics Launches "Guaranteed On-Time Delivery with Compensation" Special Line for France

On September 8, Cainiao Cross-Border Logistics officially launched its "Guaranteed On-Time Delivery with Compensation" special line for France, promising that cross-border parcels from China to France will be delivered within 8 calendar days. For orders eligible under the product's compensation rules, if the actual delivery time exceeds the promised time limit, active compensation will be triggered even if the delay is just one second. France is the fifth country covered by the "Guaranteed On-Time Delivery with Compensation" service, following the UK, the US, Germany and the Netherlands. To ensure the fulfillment commitment of the France special line, Cainiao has secured daily flights, improving trunk line stability with sufficient cargo space and priority loading. After parcels arrive in France, the last-mile delivery is connected to French postal service Colissimo to ensure local delivery and parcel sign-off.

That's all for today's morning brief. For more e-commerce insights, please stay tuned to Ebrun audio news.

This article was first published on the official website of Ebrun.