e-commerce

Int’l Luxury Brands Embrace E-Commerce to Attract Chinese Buyers

Timely reports on issues and events from across China. Drawing on a vast range of sources, these succinct articles provide insights into the significance of each issue in a wider context.

NEWS

Sales of high-end products online have dramatically increased compared to offline shopping.

Sixth Tone

Alibaba Built Its Success on Small Vendors. Now, It Fears Losing Them.

Articles that cut to the core of contemporary China. In-depth, informed, and carefully crafted, every piece is carried by the voices of the story’s participants.

FEATURES

Ahead of the all-important Singles’ Day shopping festival, the Chinese e-commerce giant is struggling to cling on to the core of its business: the small merchants that populate its flagship Taobao platform.

Wu Peiyue

Zhang Liting

Shifting Fortunes in a ‘Taobao Village’

Contributions from individuals with unique perspectives to share. Hear from everyone, from experts and commentators to those whose voices are often marginalized.

VOICES & OPINION

What happens when a model e-commerce village kills the goose that lays the golden eggs?

Qian Linliang

Once a Lifeline, Group-Buying in China Gasps for Survival

Translations, cross-publications, and collaborative projects from Sixth Tone’s external partners. 

SIXTH TONE ×

What’s next for group coordinators, suppliers, and grid warehouses?

Kaiboluo Caijing

Taobao Bans ‘Lie Flat’ Cat Cartoon

A Shanghai cat shelter raised money with slacker-themed T-shirts. China’s biggest e-commerce platform says they threatened “public order and morality.”

Luo Meihan

Regulations Forced China’s Tutors Out of a Job. Will TikTok Save Them?

Those who can, teach. Those who can’t go on TikTok.

How the Kindle Lost China

The popular e-reader seemed poised to dominate the Chinese market, but mounting competition and a decade of questionable business decisions ultimately spelled its doom.

Wang Hanyang

‘Quiet Like Never Before’: China’s 618 Shopping Festival is a Dud

In the wake of months-long lockdowns, China’s consumers are skipping out on the sales season.

Ye Zhanhang

Chinese Online Vendors Help Users Hide Their IP Address Location

Major social platforms have started displaying user locations in a bid to combat disinformation.

Missing 700-Year Old Dragon Ornament Found in Online Sale

If you’re trying to fence a stolen artifact, maybe don’t list it on eBay (or in this case, the eBay-like Xianyu)?

Fan Yiying

‘Group-Buying’ Becomes a Lifeline for Hungry Shanghai Residents

Communities are banding together to place bulk orders directly with food companies, as e-commerce services in the city remain totally overwhelmed.

The Shake-Out of China’s Community Group-Buying Market

“Old-timers” falter as newcomers and tech giants rush in, but regulatory scrutiny and buckets of red ink have cooled a once-booming e-commerce sector.

Caixin Global

As Amazon Changes Course, China’s Sellers Shop for Options

Amazon is still prime. But amid rising demand and new markets, Chinese cross-border sellers are pivoting away from the U.S. giant.

Hou Yanting

In Taobao Villages, Merchants Say They’re Struggling with Livestreaming

As live-streaming disrupts China’s e-commerce landscape, gaps between urban and rural sellers may be getting wider.

Alibaba Tries an Unfamiliar New Singles’ Day Strategy: Restraint

The world’s biggest online shopping festival used to be an unabashed celebration of celebrity and consumerism. This year, the sales stayed high — but the mood was markedly somber.

Jiang Yaling

New Oriental Is Switching From Teaching English to Selling Vegetables

Crackdown on the tutoring sector forces an education giant to take an unexpected turn.

China’s Biggest Influencer Pushes a New Message: Buy Chinese

Li “The Lipstick King” Jiaqi has risen to become China’s most powerful livestreamer. Now, he’s jumping on a new trend: an upsurge in Chinese patriotism.

Wang Lianzhang

My Obsession With the Surreal Photography on Taobao

Visual stories that get up close and personal with contemporary China. A mix of short videos, documentaries, photography, and data visualization.

MULTIMEDIA

Dutch photographer Ruben Lundgren has spent years collecting unusual product images from the Chinese e-commerce platform. He explains why the photos have greater artistic value than many realize.

Shi Yangkun

Qi Ya

The Shady Labor Practices Underpinning Shein’s Global Fashion Empire

The Chinese startup has won over Western shoppers by churning out trending styles at ultra-low prices. But at what cost?

The Chinese Brand Selling Cosmetics With Tones of National Pride

By making their products quintessentially Chinese, homegrown company Florasis is shooting up sales charts.