E-Commerce Morning Brief: JD.com App Rolls Out Full AI Overhaul; EU Proposes Raising Non-EU Small Parcel Handling Fee to ?10

News 1: JD.com App Launches Full AI Overhaul, Debuts AI Shopping Assistant "Dongdong"

On September 9, at JD.com's annual Global Technology Explorer Conference, the company unveiled a revamped version of its JD.com app with a comprehensive AI upgrade. The update not only infuses AI enhancements into existing shopping workflows, but also introduces Dongdong, the platform's first native shopping AI agent. The interactive interface for Dongdong supports both text and voice conversations, with fixed service entrances at the bottom for functions including food delivery search, local service lookup, AI-powered deal hunting, after-sales assistant, and task assistant. Dongdong will also be equipped with multimodal capabilities covering voice, video, and 3D augmented reality: users can search for identical products by scanning items in videos, and place 3D renderings of products into their actual home environments for preview, realizing a "what you see is what you get" shopping experience.

News 2: Douyin Mall Opens Merchant Registration for Mid-Autumn Festival Promotion

Douyin Mall has fully kicked off merchant recruitment for its 2026 Mid-Autumn Reunion Season shopping spree. The promotion will officially launch on September 19 and run through September 24. Participating merchants can choose to sign up for either of two discount schemes: a tiered percentage discount, or a direct price cut for every item. The tiered discount scheme offers a uniform 15% reduction based on the price submitted by merchants, with all discounts covered by merchants themselves. Products that successfully enroll in either program will also be eligible for platform-funded consumer coupon subsidies.

News 3: TikTok Comments Section Gets Full Upgrade, Adding Voice, 9-Image Carousel, Live Photo and Poll Features

TikTok announced on September 3 a systematic expansion of its comments section functions. Against the backdrop of over 1.7 billion comments posted on the platform daily, the previously text-only comment section will be upgraded to support multimedia interactions, with four new features rolled out: - Voice comments: Allow users aged 18 and above to record audio clips of up to 60 seconds; - Image carousel comments: Enable users to upload up to 9 images in a single comment; - iOS Live Photo comments: Support sharing of Live Photo content with short dynamic effects; - Poll comments: Allow creators to set up polls with up to 5 options and a specified deadline under their own videos, a feature that is now fully available. Voice comments, image carousel comments and Live Photo comments will be gradually rolled out to global users over the next month.

News 4: Shopee Launches Instant Grocery Service in Thailand, Offering 1-Hour Delivery Across Multiple Cities

Shopee officially launched its Shopee Instant Grocery service in Thailand on September 7. Partnering with leading supermarket chains including Big C, Lotus's, Tops, Maxvalu and Villa Market, the service offers 1-hour delivery and 24/7 free shipping with no minimum order value, alongside an online pharmacy that provides pharmacist consultation. The Thailand launch marks Shopee's second instant retail market rollout in two months, following the launch of its 1-hour express delivery service in Indonesia. The service covers cities including Bangkok and its surrounding areas, Chiang Mai, and Phuket, with product categories spanning eggs, fruits and vegetables, fresh meat, ice cream, and over-the-counter medications. It promises delivery within 60 minutes, with compensation vouchers issued for late orders. From an industry context, TikTok Shop's traffic penetration in Southeast Asia continues to accelerate. Its monthly visits reached 85.9% of Shopee's total across six Southeast Asian markets in June, rising further to 87% in July.

News 5: Sephora Launches Monthly Livestream "Drop Shop" Product Launch Model on TikTok Shop

According to foreign media reports, beauty retailer Sephora has officially launched on TikTok Shop, rolling out its new "Sephora Drop Shop" experience, which transforms product launches into monthly livestream events featuring celebrity hosts, brand founders and creator content.

The model will first pilot in the U.S. on September 19. Sephora aims to convert TikTok's highly engaged user base into paying customers through curated, limited-edition "drops", rather than following the traditional product listing logic.

News 6: EU Proposes Raising Non-EU Small Parcel Handling Fee to ?10

On September 9, it was reported that the European textile industry association EURATEX is actively pushing the EU to significantly raise the handling fee for non-EU small parcels to ?10 per item, up from the previously discussed ?2. The EU is reportedly planning to officially introduce the handling fee in November. Data from the French Ministry of Finance shows that after a temporary ?3 per item tariff took effect on July 1, the volume of small parcels entering the EU has dropped by 30% to 40%. Affected by the policy shift, Temu has been forced to accelerate the rollout of its semi-fulfilled by platform model, while SHEIN has expedited the expansion of its warehousing footprint in Poland. The previously prevalent model among cross-border sellers of consolidated domestic shipping, low-cost direct mail, and duty-free small parcels is now facing the combined impact of three pressures: tariffs, handling fees, and customs compliance requirements. While the ?10 handling fee proposed by the textile industry may not be adopted in full, the policy direction is clear: the EU's goal is not to make minor adjustments to low-cost cross-border models, but to raise the regulatory cost of low-value small parcels to a level that sellers cannot ignore.

News 7: Doubao Officially Launches AI Ride-Hailing Service

Cao Cao Mobility and ByteDance's AI assistant Doubao have jointly launched an AI ride-hailing service in three cities: Beijing, Hangzhou, and Suzhou. When users inquire about local life information such as routes, locations, leisure and entertainment options, or catering outlets on Doubao's interface, the system not only provides relevant information, but also proactively generates suitable travel plans based on the location for users to choose from. When users specify requirements such as extra cabin space or pre-ventilation of the vehicle, the system can intelligently match options such as dedicated cars or intelligent large-sized vehicles. Cao Cao Mobility is also piloting barrier-free services in parts of Suzhou and Hangzhou.

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

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