E-commerce Morning Brief for October 27: Doubao App Adds Embedded Douyin E-commerce Livestream Rooms; Pinduoduo Plans to Adjust Doorstep Delivery Rules

Item 1: Doubao App Adds Embedded Douyin E-commerce Livestream Rooms to Drive Traffic for Double 11.

For this year's Double 11, the Doubao app has launched a new e-commerce traffic-driving feature, directly embedding Douyin livestream rooms into chat-based product recommendations. Users can place orders directly upon entering without being redirected to Douyin. Doubao has also added a "Ask Doubao Before Buying" chat entry point that proactively pushes Douyin e-commerce coupons. When users shop through Doubao recommendations, in addition to receiving the same spend-and-save coupons available on Douyin Mall, they can also obtain separate Doubao channel subsidies.

Item 2: Sun Art Retail, Parent of RT-Mart, Issues Profit Warning with Interim Net Loss of RMB 500-550 Million.

Sun Art Retail, the parent company of RT-Mart, has issued a profit warning. For the six months ending September 30, 2026, the company expects a net loss and a loss attributable to owners of the company of RMB 500 million to RMB 550 million. In the same period of 2025, the company's net loss and loss attributable to owners of the company were RMB 127 million and RMB 123 million, respectively. Based on net loss, the projected loss for the current period is approximately 3.9 to 4.3 times that of the prior-year period, representing a significant widening of losses.

Item 3: Suning.com Double 11 Super Internal Purchase Event First-Day Overall Sales Up 28% Year-on-Year.

Suning.com's first round of offline Double 11 promotions recently kicked off, running from October 23 to October 25. Suning.com data shows that the "1023 Double 11 Super Internal Purchase Event" got off to a strong start on its first day, with overall sales up 28% year-on-year and average order value up 36% year-on-year. This Super Internal Purchase Event covered more than 100 core stores across 67 core cities nationwide, including Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, and Hefei. O2O-integrated coupon redemption drove a 120% year-on-year increase in in-store visits.

Item 4: Pinduoduo Plans to Adjust Doorstep Delivery Rules; Inducing Placement at Collection Points Also Constitutes a Violation.

During Double 11, Pinduoduo is tightening fulfillment requirements for doorstep delivery and strengthening merchant accountability to reduce last-mile delivery experience gaps. The platform plans to adjust its rules to explicitly state that merchants who induce users to forgo doorstep delivery by means such as "leaving packages at collection points" or "placing packages in parcel lockers" are also committing violations. The move is intended to go beyond price competition to further win consumer trust and improve fulfillment experience.

Item 5: JD Health Launches Cross-Platform "Replace If Unsatisfied" RMB 0.01 Exchange During 11.11.

JD Health has launched the industry's first cross-platform "Replace If Unsatisfied" campaign. Regardless of which platform the original product was purchased from, consumers only need to describe their unsatisfactory purchase experience—without providing an appraisal report or returning the original product—for a chance to qualify for a RMB 0.01 replacement. The campaign runs during 11.11 and aims to drive health-category consumption through after-sales innovation.

Item 7: MercadoLibre Invests USD 9.7 Million to Build Logistics Hub in Mendoza, Argentina.

MercadoLibre has announced a USD 9.7 million investment in Mendoza, Argentina, for corporate office construction, logistics hub development, and air cargo operations with five weekly flights. The hub will enhance its order fulfillment capacity in western Argentina and shorten regional delivery times to meet growing e-commerce demand in Latin America. This is MercadoLibre's latest move to continue strengthening local logistics infrastructure.

Item 8: Shopee Brazil to Hire Over 14,000 for Year-End Shopping Season.

Shopee Brazil has announced plans to hire more than 14,000 full-time and temporary employees by the end of 2026 to cope with operational pressure from year-end order growth. The hiring is concentrated in logistics and aims to prepare for the 11.11 mega sale, Black Friday, and Christmas shopping season. Recruitment covers 19 Brazilian states and the Federal District, with some positions open to people with disabilities.

Item 9: SHEIN Launches Fast Onboarding Program for New Semi-Managed Sellers, Kicks Off Year-End Promotions.

SHEIN has launched a fast onboarding program for new semi-managed sellers for the year-end promotional season, using five major initiatives to help sellers "open stores quickly, stock lightly, get up to speed, pick the right products, and reduce costs," while also providing brands with a dedicated brand onboarding portal. The program targets year-end promotional merchant recruitment, aiming to attract more semi-managed sellers and strengthen the platform's supply and category richness during the year-end peak season.

Item 10: Taobao Malaysia Upgrades Cross-Border Shopping with 1,400 Local Return Points Launching in November.

Taobao Malaysia has announced a comprehensive upgrade of its cross-border shopping experience, covering multiple aspects including compressed logistics times, an expanded local returns network, and the introduction of AI shopping tools. On logistics, the platform is advancing cross-border delivery in as fast as five days and plans to partner with J&T Express starting in November to establish 1,400 local return points, lowering the barrier for cross-border returns and boosting consumer confidence.

Item 11: TikTok Shop Sets Black Friday Timeline; Cross-Border POP Merchants Must Register by October 31.

TikTok Shop's U.S. fall mega sale has set deadlines for merchants' Black Friday inventory preparation and content reserves. In its performance report, the platform explicitly stated that cross-border POP merchants must complete Black Friday product registration by October 31, while fully managed merchants must complete 90% of U.S. market inventory preparation by the end of October. As Black Friday approaches, the platform is intensively pushing merchants to align their timelines.

Item 12: ByteDance's TikTok E-commerce Europe Head Chen Xi to Depart.

Chen Xi (Kevin), head of operations for TikTok e-commerce in Europe and the UK under ByteDance, is set to depart, with Song Qi taking over responsibility for the overall Europe and UK regional business. Public information shows that Chen Xi previously served as executive president of Didi's ride-hailing business, joined ByteDance in late 2020, and transferred to TikTok e-commerce in December 2022. The adjustment involves a core management position in TikTok e-commerce Europe.

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This article was first published on the official Ebrun website.