E-commerce Morning Briefing for September 30: SHEIN's H1 Net Profit Surges 111.7%; Shopify Opens Checkout to AI Agents

1. SHEIN Releases First Post-IPO Interim Results: H1 Net Revenue $20.134 Billion, Net Profit Up 111.7% YoY

SHEIN has released its first interim results since going public. In H1 2026, SHEIN's net revenue reached $20.134 billion, up 1% year-over-year; net profit was $2.299 billion, up 111.7%; adjusted net profit was $499 million; total orders rose 6.4% year-over-year to 549 million. For the twelve months ending June 30, active customers reached 291 million, compared to 254 million in the same period last year. Q2 net revenue was $11.08 billion, up 0.9% YoY; adjusted net profit was $228 million; orders grew 7.6% YoY to 298 million. Operating profit fell 52.9% YoY, primarily due to Middle East geopolitical conflicts driving up freight and oil costs, which the company chose to absorb internally. As of the end of June, the company held $15.2 billion in cash reserves.

2. Ministry of Commerce: Mid-Autumn Holiday Average Daily Sales at Key Retail and Catering Enterprises Up 6.1% YoY

According to data from the Ministry of Commerce, during the Mid-Autumn Festival, the average daily sales of key retail and catering enterprises nationwide increased by 6.1% compared to the same lunar period last year; foot traffic and sales at 78 key monitored pedestrian streets (commercial districts) rose by 6.4% and 5.1%, respectively. Smart, green, and health-conscious products saw strong sales: sales of smart wearable devices on key platforms surged by 120%, embodied AI robots by 93.1%, organic food by 36.3%, and outdoor sports equipment by 30.2%.

3. Taobao Flash Purchase Teams Up with Hema, Yonghui, and Others to Sell Yangcheng Lake Hairy Crabs Across 350+ Cities

Taobao Flash Purchase has partnered with Hema, Yonghui Superstores, RT-Mart, and various regional supermarket chains to deliver the first batch of "head-net" Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs to over 350 cities nationwide. Taobao Flash Purchase stated that these first-catch crabs could be stocked in stores in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai, and Anhui as early as that afternoon, with other cities seeing availability by evening or the next day. Search volume for keywords like "hairy crabs" and "live hairy crabs" surged 291% week-over-week, according to Taobao Flash Purchase data.

4. Shopify Opens Checkout to Browser-Based AI Agents Across All Eligible Merchant Sites

Shopify announced that AI agents running in buyers' browsers can now complete purchases on all eligible merchant sites, expanding beyond product search and cart additions. This capability is based on the WebMCP protocol. After obtaining buyer authorization, AI agents can directly read checkout pages, update shipping addresses and delivery options, and submit transactions. They can only perform three types of actions: verifying checkout information, modifying shipping addresses and delivery options, and confirming orders—each requiring buyer approval, with no autonomous decision-making. Currently, this feature only covers Shopify merchants using Shop Pay. Platforms like Amazon and Adidas have chosen to block AI agents from placing orders.

5. Amazon India's Losses Widened to INR 27.928 Billion in the Last Fiscal Year

Amazon India's combined losses across all business segments for FY2026 reached INR 27.928 billion, up 47.9% from INR 18.888 billion the previous fiscal year. Total revenue for the period was INR 39.144 billion. The retail segment posted the most significant loss, reaching INR 1.158 billion—2.9 times the figure from the prior year.

6. Kuaishou's Kling 4.0 to Launch Officially in October

Kuaishou's Kling AI announced that Kling 4.0 will officially launch in October, with Kling 4.0 Flash having entered limited beta testing on September 28. According to the announcement, Kling 4.0 supports 4K and 1080p output in 10-bit HDR format. In a report released on the day of Kling 4.0's announcement, Citi highlighted key factors: whether Kling 4.0 can catch up with Seedance 2.0 or even 2.5, which remains widely used, and whether its pricing will be more competitive relative to Seedance 2.0.

7. Asian Port Congestion Absorbs 8.5% of Global Capacity; Recovery to Take 7–10 Months

According to Sea-Intelligence calculations, 8.5% of the global container fleet is delayed or occupied, equivalent to approximately 3 million TEUs in capacity—a volume larger than the world's fifth-largest shipping line. Based on recovery rates seen after the pandemic and the early Red Sea crisis, it could take 7 to 10 months for congestion to return to the lows of June 2025, with only partial relief expected before the 2027 Chinese New Year. Drewry's Asian regional index hit an all-time high, with Shanghai-to-Laem Chabang freight rising to $1,609 per FEU and to Jakarta reaching $2,300. Sellers should allow for longer buffers between booking and delivery.

8. JD Cargo Airlines' Registered Capital Increases to RMB 1.57 Billion, Up ~43%

According to Tianyancha, Jiangsu JD Cargo Airlines Co., Ltd. recently underwent a business registration change, increasing its registered capital from RMB 1.1 billion to RMB 1.57 billion—an increase of approximately 43%. The company, founded in September 2019, operates scheduled cargo flights, mail transport, unscheduled cargo services, and the sale, leasing, and maintenance of aircraft and equipment. Its shareholders are Suqian JD Zhanrui Enterprise Management Co., Ltd. and Nantong Airport Group Co., Ltd.

9. UAE E-Commerce Market to Reach $11.5 Billion in 2025, Expected to Grow to $18.3 Billion by 2030

According to the sixth annual e-commerce study co-published by EZDubai and Euromonitor International, the UAE e-commerce market is valued at AED 42.2 billion (approximately $11.5 billion) in 2025 and is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 9.9% to AED 67.2 billion (about $18.3 billion) by 2030. Online retail's share is estimated at 15.7% in 2025 and is expected to exceed 20% by 2030. Apparel and footwear are the largest e-commerce categories, with sales of AED 11.4 billion in 2025, followed by consumer electronics and home care. The broader Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia region's e-commerce market is projected to reach $247.6 billion by 2030.

10. Pop Mart Opens Six New Overseas Stores in a Week; Douyin Channel GMV Up 68.7% QoQ

As of September 27, Pop Mart opened six new overseas stores during the week—two in the US, two in the UK, one in Malaysia, and one in Italy. The total number of overseas stores (excluding Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan) reached 262, with 77 new stores opened cumulatively since 2026. According to Chanmama's estimates based on midpoint UV ranges, during the week of September 20-27, Pop Mart's combined GMV on Douyin reached RMB 30.304 million, up 68.7% quarter-over-quarter, driven by the release of the Zsiga Life Show series blind boxes. The series sold out rapidly across all platforms, with MINI action figures surpassing 10,000 units on Douyin and 20,000 units on Tmall. According to Fastmoss, Pop Mart's TikTok channel GMV for the same period was RMB 6.29 million, down 5% QoQ, with the US market contributing RMB 4.17 million, a decline of 8%.

11. Luo Yonghao Criticizes Yu Minhong: Sold Over RMB 10 Million Worth of Defective Rolling Stools Without Acknowledging Mistakes

Luo Yonghao's live-streaming channel, "Friends" (Jiaogepengyou), was recently accused of selling defective rolling stools, sparking public backlash. In response, Friends immediately removed the product, terminated cooperation with the brand, and initiated consumer refunds. Luo Yonghao then posted multiple Weibo messages addressing the incident, targeting Yu Minhong and East Buy. Luo claimed that "Friends" sold RMB 2-3 million worth of defective stools, publicly apologized, and launched full refunds without requiring returns. In contrast, he alleged that Yu Minhong also sold RMB 10 million worth of the same defective stools but has yet to admit fault, apologize, or provide full refunds.

12. Qianwen APP Deeply Integrates with Quark Drive; Membership Benefits Unified

Qianwen APP announced a deep integration with Quark Drive. With user authorization, users can search, organize, and read files from their drive within Qianwen conversations, and use this to generate study tools, work documents, and interactive web pages. Quark Drive will serve as a shared data asset hub for users and AI, with unified membership benefits: customers purchasing elite-level or higher Qianwen APP membership will now also receive a Quark Drive membership of equal duration.

That concludes today's morning briefing. For more e-commerce knowledge and insights, follow Ebrun's audio updates.

This article was originally published on the official Ebrun website.