# e-commerce
Latest news and articles about e-commerce
Total: 16 articles found
Qianwen Pushes From Chat to Checkout with Daily 'First-Order' Discount
Qianwen has launched a 'daily first-order' discount that gives users reduced prices — as low as RMB 3.8 — when they place orders via its one-sentence AI ordering feature, and those discounts can be combined with promotions on major platforms like Taobao, Fliggy and Damai. The move is designed to convert AI-driven interactions into frequent commercial transactions, accelerating Qianwen's shift from research project to consumer-facing commerce channel.
Spring Gala Turns Robots into Hot Sellers: JD Sees Searches Jump Over 300% and Models Sell Out in Minutes
Exposure on China’s Spring Festival Gala produced a sharp, short‑term surge in robot interest on JD.com — searches jumped over 300%, inquiries rose 460% and orders climbed 150%, with several models selling out within minutes. The event demonstrates the Gala’s power to convert cultural visibility into commerce, but sustaining demand will depend on scaling production, lowering costs and building service networks.
Delivering Reunion: How China’s New Year Eve Dinners Became a Booming Delivery Market
Search interest for delivered and takeaway New Year’s Eve dinners in China surged in early February, with several hundred-percent jumps across related search terms. Restaurants and platforms are responding with dedicated delivery services, extended logistics into rural areas and new seasonal product offerings, reshaping how families consume the Spring Festival reunion meal.
China’s Outlet Boom: How suburban “discount bazaars” are remaking retail and reviving spending
China’s outlet centres have surged in popularity, filling a gap left by underperforming urban malls and unreliable e-commerce. Attracting middle-aged men, suburban families and young consumers disenchanted with online shopping, outlets have become suburban multipurpose destinations and a fast‑growing retail channel.
China’s Outlet Mall Boom: How suburban ‘discount havens’ are rewiring post‑pandemic retail
Outlet malls are enjoying a post‑pandemic renaissance across China, drawing a diverse mix of middle‑aged men, suburban families and disenchanted online shoppers with open‑air design, clustered brand offerings and visible discounts. Rapid expansion by established chains and new entrants is reshaping retail geography, but the model faces risks from discount dilution, overcapacity and rising consumer scepticism about promotional authenticity.
How China’s ‘Black Strawberry’ Is Challenging the Cherry’s Lunar New Year Crown
Black strawberries have erupted into China’s Lunar New Year fruit market, driven by scarcity, distinctive appearance and social-media buzz, challenging imported Chilean cherries whose prices have weakened. Improved greenhouse techniques and colourful gift-box packaging have helped domestic strawberries move from niche novelty to mainstream seasonal contender.
Google Turns AI Answers into a Checkout: Shopping Moves Inside Search and Gemini
Google is experimenting with a feature that enables direct purchases inside Search and its Gemini chatbot, aiming to monetise AI-driven interactions by turning answers into transactions. The initiative could reshape digital advertising and e-commerce economics, while raising privacy and competition questions.
Xiaohongshu Builds an AI Video-Editing Armory — OpenStoryline Targets Creators and Commerce
Xiaohongshu is developing OpenStoryline, an AI-powered video editing tool aimed at accelerating creator production and strengthening the app’s commerce ecosystem. The product dovetails with broader moves by Chinese tech firms to integrate generative AI, but faces regulatory, copyright and content-quality trade-offs.
Alibaba’s Qianwen Extends Lunar New Year Free-Order Cards as Demand Overwhelms Delivery Capacity
Alibaba’s Qianwen extended its Spring Festival 25-yuan free-order card validity to February 28 after demand outpaced expectations, and widened eligibility to include meals, fresh produce and New Year goods via Tmall and Hema. Heavy user participation has strained merchant and flash-delivery capacity, leaving many unable to place orders and exposing the logistics limits behind a high-profile promotional push.
IKEA’s Clearance Rush: A Last Hurrah — and a Symptom of China’s Furniture Retail Shake‑Up
IKEA’s high-profile clearance sales at seven closing Chinese megastores drew crowds and chaotic scenes, highlighting the decline of large-format furniture malls and the rise of small-format, omnichannel retail. Consumer preferences, e-commerce competition and changing urban living patterns are reshaping China’s home-furnishing market, creating winners among agile domestic brands and lifestyle retailers and headaches for landlords and legacy operators.
Alibaba Stakes 3 Billion RMB on 'Action' AI to Win the Spring Festival Battleground
Alibaba is investing RMB 3 billion in a Spring Festival campaign that stitches its Qianwen AI into commerce and local services to serve as an action-capable assistant. The move contrasts with Tencent’s cash-driven social push and ByteDance’s entertainment-focused AI experiences, and could determine which platform secures the mainstream AI entry point in China.
Amazon to Cut Nearly 16,000 Jobs as it Tightens Its Belt and Repositions for AI Era
Amazon has announced nearly 16,000 job cuts as it seeks to curb costs and redeploy resources toward cloud, advertising and artificial-intelligence initiatives. The move reflects a broader industry shift from pandemic-era expansion to a focus on profitability and automation, with implications for employees, customers and competitors.