October 21 E-commerce Morning Brief: Douyin's Double 11 Merchants with over RMB100 Million GMV Up 200%; AliExpress Teams Up with YouTube for Global Expansion

Story 1: Douyin Double 11 Opening Surge — Number of Merchants with over RMB100 Million GMV Up 200%.

Douyin E-commerce released its 2026 Double 11 opening data: from October 15 to 18, the number of merchants with over RMB100 million in GMV driven by platform-funded consumer coupons increased 200% year-on-year; merchants surpassing RMB1 million rose 38%, and those surpassing RMB10 million rose 36%; the number of newly minted RMB1 million merchants increased 59%, and the number of livestream rooms exceeding RMB100 million grew 80%. Agricultural produce and fresh food merchants surpassing RMB10 million increased 250%, while pet category merchants rose 200%.

Story 2: JD.com Double 11 First Week Service Category Orders Up Over 130%.

In the first week of JD.com's Double 11 (as of October 19), service category orders increased over 130% year-on-year, and sales of 1,098 physical goods categories doubled year-on-year. Services such as housekeeping, moving, appliance cleaning, auto maintenance, health checkups, partial home renovation, rental, and home-based elderly care led the growth.

Story 3: Qianwen App Launches New Companion Shopping Feature for Browse-and-Chat Online Shopping.

The Qianwen app officially launched a new companion shopping feature. After starting a call and authorizing screen sharing, users can browse and chat while shopping online. The AI automatically extracts product specifications, ingredient lists, and massive reviews, flags risks such as light colors being prone to staining, pre-sale cycles, and after-sales restrictions, and supports real-time price comparison, specification comparison, and order optimization.

Story 4: Pinduoduo Double 11 Officially Kicks Off with RMB50 off Every RMB300 and Instant Discounts on Single Items.

Pinduoduo officially launched its Double 11 promotion on October 20, offering two tiers of consumer benefits: RMB50 off every RMB300 spent and RMB30 off every RMB200 spent. The Ten Billion Subsidy channel will debut an instant discount on single items on October 23, stacking direct price cuts on top of subsidies; the first batch includes more than 20,000 branded products.

Story 5: 361 Degrees Posts Growth Across Three Business Lines in Q3, Premium Stores Reach 210.

361 Degrees disclosed its Q3 operating trends: all three major business lines grew; premium stores reached 210, completing the annual target ahead of schedule; international business grew over 80%; and the company received a Forbes New Intelligence Award. Multi-scenario product expansion showed results, management maintained full-year growth guidance, and warned of industry competitive pressure in 2026.

Story 6: STO and Other Express Companies Disclose September Data, Volume Rises Across the Board.

STO and other express companies disclosed September data: STO completed 2.524 billion parcels, up 15.43% year-on-year; YTO 2.951 billion, up 12.33%; Yunda 2.139 billion, up 1.37%; SF Express's express and supply chain international revenue reached RMB28.719 billion, up 6.34% year-on-year, reflecting continued e-commerce parcel momentum ahead of Double 11.

Story 7: AliExpress and YouTube Form Global Strategic Partnership for Overseas Expansion.

AliExpress and YouTube have formed a global strategic partnership, joining YouTube's Shopping Affiliate Program across four major markets — the UK, Germany, Brazil, and the US — providing merchants with new channels to expand overseas and reach global consumers. This is AliExpress's second overseas expansion move within a week, following its China Brand Global Growth Program.

Story 8: TikTok Shop Black Friday Event Scheduled for November 11.

TikTok Shop announced an early start to its US Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotion, running from November 11 to November 30. In September, content with the #holidayshopping hashtag increased 263% month-on-month, and nearly one-third of US users are expected to buy gifts via TikTok on Black Friday, November 27.

Story 9: Amazon Europe Raises Fuel and Logistics Surcharge to 2%.

Amazon Europe issued a notice raising its fuel and logistics surcharge from 1.5% to 2%, effective for FBA orders from November 2, covering ten marketplaces: Germany, Belgium, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Spain, and the UK.

Story 10: TikTok Shop Thailand Share Hits 48%, Surpassing Shopee for the First Time.

Market research firm Cube estimates that in Q2, TikTok Shop accounted for 48% of Thailand's physical goods GMV, surpassing Shopee's 45% for the first time. The two platforms each held a 46% share in the first half of the year, essentially tied; TikTok Shop also continued to narrow the gap in GMV terms.

Story 11: Amazon US Users Place 22 Orders per Year on Average, Leading Walmart.

E-commerce data firm ECDB statistics show that Amazon users in the US place an average of 22 orders per year, or about one order every 17 days, ranking first among major retailers; Walmart ranks second with 14.8 orders per year (about 15), a gap of 7 orders, giving Amazon a clear lead.

Story 12: eBay US Site to Charge USPS Shipping by ZIP Code Tiers.

eBay US announced that USPS will switch domestic delivery to destination ZIP code-based pricing starting October 18. In addition to the existing standard and remote rate groups, Ground Advantage will add three new rate groups, with rate tables listed by ZIP code segments, and some ZIP codes seeing lower rates.

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This article was first published on the Ebrun official website.