Xiaohongshu’s Redshop Set to Expand Cross-Border E-Commerce Categories, Introduces Service Fee Rules for Apparel, Beauty, Home Goods and More

[Ebrun Original] September 14 — Xiaohongshu recently released a draft public consultation notice on the new *Redshop Cross-Border Navigation Merchant Service Fee Rules*, proposing to levy dedicated cross-border service fees on merchants participating in its Cross-Border Navigation Program. The new rules are currently in the public comment period and are scheduled to take official effect on September 16.

Under the proposed rules, cross-border service fees will be charged separately based on the category of each individual product in an order. The fee schedule covers a wide range of categories including apparel, beauty and personal care, home goods, 3C consumer electronics, pet supplies, outdoor sports products, cultural and creative products, and handicrafts, with a 10% fee rate applied to most first-level categories. Among second-level categories, “handmade/DIY crafts” and “trading cards” are subject to a 5% rate, while “anime/manga merchandise and derivatives”, “doll clothing” and “cotton dolls” carry an 8% rate. The cross-border service fee for each order is capped at RMB 70.

The fee is calculated on the basis of the actual paid amount for goods plus platform subsidies applied to the products. Calculations are made per item based on actual purchase quantity, then aggregated at the order level. Under this framework, for orders where all items fall under the 10% fee tier, the 10% rate applies to orders with a total eligible transaction value of up to RMB 700; for orders exceeding RMB 700, the cross-border service fee remains capped at RMB 70.

This cross-border service fee will be collected separately from other charges including Xiaohongshu’s technical service fees. It will be deducted in RMB at the time of order settlement and listed as an independent line item in store settlement bills. The fee rates outlined in the rules will be in effect from the date of implementation through December 31, 2026; rates applicable after January 1, 2027 will be announced separately by the platform.

Prior to the release of this fee rule, Xiaohongshu had spent over a year testing and scaling its cross-border e-commerce business.

In March 2025, the platform launched its “E-Commerce Cross-Border Navigation Program”, initially covering the United States, Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR. Invited merchants can reach overseas users through in-feed notes, livestreams and storefronts on Xiaohongshu’s main app, with product listings and customer service content automatically translated by the platform’s system. After merchants send inventory to designated transit warehouses, customs clearance and international shipping are handled by the platform’s partners, with final sales revenue settled in RMB to merchants’ domestic accounts.

In late February 2026, Xiaohongshu established the Rednote division to oversee its international business, and transferred Yin Shi, former head of the e-commerce operation department, to the international team to lead the development and operation of Redshop. At a merchant event in April, Xiaohongshu disclosed that Redshop planned to initially invite roughly 50 seed merchants on an invite-only basis, with a focus on categories including intangible cultural heritage handicrafts and specialty artisanal products.

Redshop officially launched in July 2026 and reopened its targeted merchant invitation process, with coverage expanded to markets including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR. As of public information from August, Redshop had not yet opened a public merchant onboarding portal, continuing to operate primarily on a platform-invited basis.

Compared to its early merchant recruitment priorities, the newly released fee schedule sets out charging standards for a much broader range of product categories, including footwear, apparel, luggage and bags, beauty and personal care, home goods, digital accessories, automotive supplies, books, and sports and outdoor products. While the fee schedule does not necessarily confirm that all these categories are already open for trade, it signals that Redshop is establishing supporting fee rules to prepare for the upcoming expansion of its merchant base and product supply. Once the new rules take effect, merchants calculating their operating costs for Redshop will also need to account for additional applicable platform fees such as technical service fees.

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