October 19 E-commerce Morning Briefing: Xiaohongshu Double 11 Merchants See Up to 5x GMV Growth; Amazon Tightens NWD Brand Sales Restrictions

Item 1: Xiaohongshu Double 11 Opening Report: Mixed Vouchers Drive Multi-category Surge, Friendly Merchants See Up to 5x GMV Growth. Xiaohongshu disclosed that this year's Double 11 continues its support strategy for "friendly merchants" who "focus on quality products and sincere operations." Mixed vouchers have spurred growth across multiple categories, with friendly merchants achieving up to 5 times GMV growth. The platform stated its aim is to secure more certain growth for new products, high-ticket items, and quality merchants and buyers.

Item 2: Meituan Happy Monkey to Open 6 New Stores Across Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Tianjin. Meituan Happy Monkey announced a new store expansion plan, opening 6 branches across Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Tianjin, with openings scheduled in two batches. On October 16, four stores debuted simultaneously: Dongguan Jiazhouwan Department Store, Huizhou Dakun Jinzhou Plaza, Tianjin Binhai Guangzhou Dao, and Jinhua Lanxi Danxi Avenue. On October 23, Guangzhou Huadu Dongfu Hotel and Shaoxing Zhuji Wanfeng New World will also open. As of September 30, Meituan Happy Monkey has over 100 officially operating stores nationwide.

Item 3: Cainiao Guoguo Launches AI Courier Service, Double 11 Price as Low as 4.99 RMB per Order. Cainiao Guoguo has deeply integrated with the Qianwen APP for this year's Double 11, officially launching the AI courier assistant "Cai Xiao Guo." Consumers no longer need to manually compare prices or fill forms; just say "help me find a cheap delivery," and the AI intelligently recommends suitable shipping services. During Double 11, Cainiao Guoguo's Yunda special price starts at 4.99 RMB for first-weight shipping nationwide, with additional discounts like tiered pricing and purchase rebates.

Item 4: Kling AI's Next-Generation Model Kling 4.0 Officially Launched. Kling AI's next-generation video generation model, Kling 4.0, has been officially launched, focusing on realism, controllability, and professionalism. Kling 4.0 targets high-dynamics and strong camera movement scenarios, achieving three breakthroughs: more stable performance in large dynamic movements; single-generation length up to 30 seconds; support for up to 15 reference material combinations and up to 10 keyframe inputs.

Item 5: Pinduoduo Spends 1.2 Billion RMB to Acquire Another Office Building in Shanghai. Multiple industry insiders confirmed that Pinduoduo recently acquired a Grade-A office building at Jingyao Hongqiao in Changning District, Shanghai, from Tishman Speyer. A senior executive at a well-known real estate agency revealed that Pinduoduo purchased the entire building in a direct transaction with the seller, not through an intermediary, completing the deal in Q3 this year for approximately 1.2 billion RMB. This marks Pinduoduo's second property acquisition in Shanghai this year.

Item 6: Head of Alibaba Tongyi Wanxiang Video Model Team Zhang Yingya Leaves. Sources revealed that Zhang Yingya, head of the Wan series video generation model team at Alibaba Tongyi Wanxiang, has recently departed; her next move is still unclear. Public information shows that Zhang Yingya is a well-known scholar in the video generation model field, joining Alibaba in 2015 through campus recruitment. Initially researching visual recognition and image detection, she later shifted to image and video generation models and diffusion models during the large model era, and was a key leader in the Wan video generation model.

Item 7: Shopee's Parent Sea Partners with Google's AI Future Fund. Shopee's parent company Sea announced that its R&D division, Sea Labs, will directly collaborate with Google's AI Future Fund to jointly explore and develop new applied AI products. Sea's teams will gain access to some of Google's advanced models to accelerate AI application implementation in scenarios like e-commerce and fintech.

Item 8: Amazon Tightens NWD Brand Sales Restrictions; Sellers Must Clear Inventory by October 27. Since October 13, many Amazon sellers have received notifications from the platform. Brands operating under the No Wholesale Distribution (NWD) model will have their products sold only by accounts authorized with brand representative permissions; sellers must process related inventory by October 27. This adjustment means the platform is further tightening control over brand distribution channels.

Item 9: Russian E-commerce Q3 Average Order Value Reaches 8,018 Rubles; Pickup Rate Drops Below 90%. Russian e-commerce service provider PIM Solutions released its Q3 online retail report, based on data from over 50,000 online stores. The average order value was 8,018 rubles, up 4% quarter-over-quarter and 10% year-over-year, with price increases across almost all categories except fashion. Average delivery time extended to 4.56 days, and the pickup rate fell below 90% for the first time in a year, dropping to 89%, with the lowest pickup rates in the footwear and apparel category. The agency reminds sellers to examine issues with slower delivery and collection point rejections.

Item 10: JD Property and UAE's Gargash Prime Reach Strategic Cooperation. JD Property and UAE-based Gargash Prime signed a strategic cooperation agreement to jointly develop large-scale modern logistics infrastructure in the UAE, creating a regional distribution and fulfillment hub radiating across the Middle East. The project covers approximately 250,000 square meters of land, providing high-standard logistics infrastructure support for growing regional warehousing, distribution, and fulfillment demands, further deepening JD Property's presence in the Middle East.

Item 11: U.S. Customs ACE System Glitch Delays Manifest Receipt Notices. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued an emergency notice stating that outward email or system message receipts from its Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) system may be delayed, affecting sea, air, and rail manifests, as well as bonded and in-bond movements. CBP indicated the cause is unknown and remains under investigation. These delays may impact cross-border sellers' customs clearance and fulfillment timelines; sellers are advised to monitor shipment status closely.

Item 12: SHEIN Tightens Shipping Subsidy Eligibility; Stores with DSR Score Below 4 Stars Lose 2.99 USD Shipping Subsidy. SHEIN has adjusted its shipping subsidy rules: merchants with store DSR scores below 4 stars or without a DSR score will lose the ability to configure shipping templates and enable shipping subsidies. Following this adjustment, the platform raises the bar for merchant service quality, increasing cross-border fulfillment costs for low-rated stores.

That concludes today's morning briefing. For more e-commerce insights, stay tuned to Ebrun's audio updates.

This article was first published on the Ebrun official website.