E-commerce Morning Brief: SAMR to Accelerate E-Commerce Law Revision; TikTok Shop U.S. First-Half GMV Doubles Year-Over-Year

Item 1: SAMR to accelerate revision of the E-Commerce Law and formulate negative list for platform rules

On September 20, the State Council Information Office held a press conference on market regulation during the 15th Five-Year Plan period. Zhu Jianqiao, director of the Online Supervision Department of the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), stated that the authority will accelerate the revision of the E-Commerce Law, push to add penalty types including proportional fines and suspension of relevant business operations, and strengthen platforms’ primary responsibilities in merchant onboarding review, product information management, and consumer safety protection. The revised law will also bring new-format e-commerce operators and workers in new employment forms under its regulatory scope. Additionally, SAMR will accelerate the formulation and implementation of the Negative List for Online Trading Platform Rules, and roll out special campaigns targeting live-streaming e-commerce governance and second-hand e-commerce platform standardization.

Item 2: Taobao Factory launches RMB 1.6 billion special support for 2026 Double 11, with four measures to bolster industrial belt supply

The 2026 Double 11 merchant conference for Taobao Factory and Guohuoyanxuan (Domestic Product Select) was held recently. The event unveiled key initiatives for Tmall’s 2026 Double 11 shopping festival: the platform will invest RMB 1.6 billion across the full cycle, rolling out four measures to support industrial belt supply – namely commission rebates, industrial belt factory support, AI merchant tools, and origin service centers – with a focus on supporting domestic original equipment manufacturers and industrial belt supply. GMV for Guohuoyanxuan doubled again in the first half of the year.

Item 3: JD extends promotional price protection period to 15 days, covering Super 18 and Mid-Autumn Festival sales events

On September 20, JD.com updated its promotional price protection rules, extending the price protection window for orders from its Super 18 campaign and Mid-Autumn Festival special sale from 7 days to 15 days. The move aims to reduce consumer complaints over post-purchase price cuts and stabilize pricing order during major promotions. While the extended price protection period will increase the platform’s compensation costs in the short term, it is designed to build long-term user trust.

Item 4: Meituan launches its first artisan Agent, bringing AI assistance to service retail merchants

On September 20, Meituan launched its first artisan-focused AI Agent in Shenzhen. Targeting high-frequency service retail scenarios where final outcomes cannot be previewed, such as hair salons and beauty services, the tool acts as an AI operation assistant for service retail merchants, helping address pain points around service standardization and consumer matching, and improving operational efficiency for local life service businesses.

Item 5: ALO captures nearly 30% market share in first month of China entry via exclusive Tmall launch

On September 20, U.S. premium yoga apparel brand ALO launched its official Tmall flagship store on August 12. Third-party monitoring data shows that between August 12 and September 12, ALO, operating exclusively via Tmall as its only e-commerce channel in China, captured 27.3% of online GMV in the country’s mid-to-high-end women’s yoga and fitness apparel market, ranking second only to Lululemon which held 62.8%. The two brands combined accounted for 90.1% of the market. On September 16, ALO announced its Greater China expansion plan, which will see it open eight offline boutique stores across seven cities.

Item 6: Douyin E-commerce unveils full schedule for 2026 Double 11, reports 13.5 billion orders of agricultural specialty products sold in past year

On September 20, Douyin E-commerce released the full schedule for its 2026 Double 11 campaign, which will roll out in three phases: the October opening launch, the main sales period spanning October to November, and the November grand finale. Core promotions include an automatic 15% site-wide official discount and straight price cuts on individual items, with merchant registration opening on September 14. The platform disclosed that it has facilitated the sale of 13.5 billion orders of agricultural specialty products over the past 12 months.

Item 7: TikTok Shop U.S. posts $11.8 billion first-half GMV, doubling year-over-year to overtake Indonesia as largest market

On September 20, it was reported that TikTok Shop generated $11.8 billion in GMV in the U.S. market in the first half of the year, doubling from the same period last year, with its in-app mall becoming the top transaction channel. The platform’s global first-half GMV exceeded $50.3 billion, as the U.S. replaced Indonesia to become TikTok Shop’s largest single market.

Item 8: Shopify enables direct ChatGPT ad placement from merchant backend

On September 20, Shopify announced that merchants can now launch ChatGPT ad campaigns without leaving their Shopify dashboard. After installing the ChatGPT Ads app, merchants can directly connect existing ad accounts or create new ones, automatically sync their Shopify product catalogs to ChatGPT Ads Manager, and reach consumers via AI conversational touchpoints.

Item 9: Costco expands Uber Eats partnership to nearly 600 stores across the U.S.

On September 20, Costco announced that its on-demand delivery partnership with Uber Eats has expanded from an initial 17 states to 47 U.S. states where Costco operates locations, covering nearly 600 stores. Members can place orders directly on the Uber Eats platform using their Costco membership number, with access to the full range of product categories.

Item 10: Polish e-commerce platform Allegro raises 2026 performance guidance

On September 20, Poland’s largest e-commerce platform Allegro upgraded its 2026 performance outlook. The company now expects adjusted EBITDA growth of 11% to 14% for its Polish market, up from its previous forecast of 7% to 10%. Polish market GMV is projected to grow 11% to 13%, compared with the earlier guidance of 9% to 11%.

Item 11: 73% of Indonesian users name Shopee top platform; TikTok Shop ranks second with 16% share

A survey of 888 Indonesian respondents conducted by Snapcart between August 17 and 21 shows that 73% of respondents name Shopee as their most frequently used e-commerce platform. TikTok Shop ranks firmly second with a 16% share, while Tokopedia, Lazada, and Blibli hold 7%, 3%, and 1% respectively.

Item 12: Amazon Prime Air drone delivery to cover nearly 500 U.S. towns and cities by year-end

On September 20, Amazon unveiled the latest expansion plan for its Prime Air drone delivery service, which is projected to cover nearly 500 U.S. towns and cities by the end of 2026. That represents a roughly six-fold expansion from its current coverage, reaching communities of tens of millions of consumers.

That wraps up today’s morning brief. For more e-commerce insights, stay tuned to Ebrun Audio News.

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