AFTER JOYBUY, WHAT WILL BE THE NEXT CHINESE WEBSHOP? In a recent interview, I was asked an interesting question. ‘We have had AliExpress, Shein and Temu. Now that Joybuy has arrived, should we expect more Chinese platforms?’ chinadigitalretailreport.substack.com/p/after-joyb...

WHY DID COMMUNITY GROUP BUYING FAIL? In a recent article, instant retail expert Lao Zhang shared some interesting things about CGB. Read some excerpts from the article on China Digital Retail Report: substack.com/@chinadigita...

THE ‘NEW’ BATTLE: IN-STORE GROUP-BUYING Wasn’t that settled in the ‘1000 Groupon Battle’ in the early 2010s? Well, yes. Meituan came out on top, but the war is on again, with Alibaba entering this space at the start of 2026. Read more on China Digital Retail Report: substack.com/@chinadigita...

In Temu Watch #13, I examine Temu’s adjusted pricing strategy, developments in competition and Temu’s GMV and profitability status. I also take a close look at what to expect from the platform in 2026. I wrap up the report with a summary video. chinadigitalretailreport.substack.com/p/report-tem...

LEGO BANS DISTRIBUTORS SELLING ON TEMU, SHEIN AND ALIEXPRESS There are three reasons for this move. Read more and learn how other brands are bound to follow. substack.com/@chinadigita...

No, these are not F1 drivers' racing suits... To find out what's going on here, check out this Note on China Digital Retail Report: substack.com/@chinadigita...

Why JD needs to do a better job with Joybuy - Part 2: Joybuy 'Beta' Would Joybuy do better? In this second article, I evaluate Joybuy’s first year, from the day the website went live in the UK to the formal launch on March 16th. chinadigitalretailreport.substack.com/p/why-jd-nee...

A RANT ABOUT JD’S JOYBUY substack.com/@chinadigita...

Today, JD's European website is officially launching after Ochama was rebranded in August, and Joybuy has been in 'beta phase' for a year. In a series of articles, I examine how JD needs to do a much better job than it has in the past 5 years. chinadigitalretailreport.substack.com/p/why-jdcom-...

AI AGENT IN WECHAT - CAN IT BE A WINNER? An interesting perspective on whether traffic or fulfilment capabilities will be a decisive factor and how successful WeChat could be. substack.com/@chinadigita...

This week in China Digital Retail Report, I’m summarising and commenting on two interesting articles on instant retail in the Chinese business press. ▶️ Meituan’s alcohol-delivery service ▶️ A comparison between Sam’s Club, Hema and ALDI chinadigitalretailreport.substack.com/p/media-in-c...

AI CAUSES COLLAPSE OF LIVE-ACTION SHORT DRAMA STUDIOS What’s going on? I have published a shortened version of a Tech Planet article on China Digital Retail Report. substack.com/@chinadigita...

Coming up this week in the China Digital Retail Report newsletter: ▶️ In China, a Crooked Horse Delivers Your Booze in 15 minutes ▶️ Sam’s Club, Aldi & Alibaba's Hema: Different Paths, Same Destination Subscribe here: chinadigitalretailreport.substack.com/subscribe

WHY 3.000 FRONT-END WAREHOUSE ORDERS IS BETTER THAN 5,000 Why does Pupu Supermarket, a front-end warehouse format instant retail player in southern China, have 3,000 orders per warehouse rather than 5,000? Find out in a new note on China Digital Retail Report. substack.com/@chinadigita...

Spring Festival saw Tencent, Alibaba and Bytedance poor an estimated RMB 10 billion into campaigns that tried to get consumers to use their AI apps. Red envelopes (basically discounts) were flowing freely to trigger such onboarding. Read more: chinadigitalretailreport.substack.com/p/media-spri...

Earlier this month, I was a guest on the Let’s Talk Marketplace podcast. We discussed JD’s acquisition of Ceconomy (owner of the Media Markt and Saturn consumer electronics retail chains), the lack of success of its Ochama business, and the relaunch of its Joybuy brand.

I'll be in China in April and July, but in between, the June 2026 tour is starting to shape up nicely. 😉 vnc-china.nl diysummit.org ecommerceday.de/en k5.de

INSTANT RETAIL’S 60 BILLION YUAN CLUB After Meituan took over Dingdong Maicai (see my article here), they became a member of the ’60 billion yuan club’. Read more here: substack.com/@chinadigita...

Coffee price war ends, instant retail battle continues... This week's China Digital Retail Report just dropped. ▶️ Cotti Coffee ends the price war ▶️ Alibaba announced doubling down on instant retail ▶️ Pinduoduo is joining the battle. chinadigitalretailreport.substack.com/p/media-coff...

CHINESE RETAILREUS GAAT THUISBEZORGEN IN NEDERLAND Het is zo'n dag dat je een hoop werk probeert te verzetten, maar de journalisten blijven bellen omdat een Chinees bedrijf een persbericht heeft verstuurd. 😂 Na het interview op BNR Nieuwradio nu dus ook RTL Z ... www.linkedin.com/posts/edsand...

JD 'LANCEERT' JOYBUY WEBSHOP IN NEDERLAND Ik was zojuist op BNR Nieuwsradio om de komst - of moeten we zeggen 'terugkeer'? - van jd.com met de webshop Joybuy toe te lichten. Kijk hier naar het fragment: www.linkedin.com/posts/edsand...

WOULD YOU LIKE TO WATCH YOUR TAKEOUT BEING PREPARED BY A MACHINE? www.linkedin.com/posts/edsand...

China’s Internet Companies Get Cooking (Part 2) – JD's 7Fresh Kitchen In part 2 of this report, we look at JD’s 7Fresh Kitchen. It includes video footage an extensive assessment by a former JD manager and a comparison with Meituan’s Raccoon Kitchen. techbuzzchina.substack.com/p/chinas-int...

TEMU, TARIFFS AND AUTONOMOUS DELIVERY I am sharing a recording of an interview I did with European Guanxi. In the interview I discuss, among other topics, how Temu survived the US import tariffs and why we shouldn't expect any European tariffs to stop Temu either. open.substack.com/pub/chinadig...

China Digital Retail Report is my new publication, focusing on the online and offline retail activities of China’s internet companies, both domestically and globally. I will publish reports, articles and videos weekly. Sign up here: chinadigitalretailreport.substack.com

China Digital Retail Report is my new publication, focusing on the online and offline retail activities of China’s internet companies, both domestically and globally. I will publish reports, articles and videos weekly. Sign up here: chinadigitalretailreport.substack.com

A summary video of the report I published yesterday on my new Substack page China Digital Retail Report. www.linkedin.com/posts/edsand...

Instant retail market consolidation: Meituan acquires Dingdong This article combines insights from various Chinese media (see sources), as well as those of the author. chinadigitalretailreport.substack.com/p/media-inst...

A few relevant thoughts: 1st, Apps can't refuse to offer basic services because a user won't provide information beyond that necessary for those services. Short-video apps like Douyin must offer SEARCH and PLAYBACK functions without collecting ANY personal info. aweme.snssdk.com/falcon/fe_do...

Final Call! Nog een paar dagen om je in te schrijven voor Dé Grote China Kennis Quiz 2026. Nog een paar plekjes vrij. leidenasiacentre.nl/event/de-gro...

CHINATECHTRIP x K5 X-PEDITION CHINA AFTERMOVIE My absolute highlight of 2025, like in 2024, was our cooperation with Sven Rittau and Jochen Krisch on the China study tour with K5 - Future Retail. www.linkedin.com/posts/edsand...

Yikes ...

While everybody is still trying to fight Shein and Temu, the next potential disruptor from China is already working hard toward a lofty $100 billion revenue target by 2033. China's number one food delivery platform, Meituan, dreams big for its overseas business, Keeta. substack.com/profile/6357...

THE COMING DISRUPTION - A WARNING TO RETAIL "While so many Western companies are getting hung up on today's controversies, things like import taxes, they are missing the much, much bigger strategic threat that is hurtling right towards them." www.linkedin.com/posts/edsand...

𝔹𝕖𝕟 𝕛𝕖 𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕖𝕔𝕙𝕥𝕖 ℂ𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕒-𝕜𝕖𝕟𝕟𝕖𝕣? Quizmasters @edsander.bsky.social & @blogaap.bsky.social presenteren op 3 feb 🇨🇳 'de Grote #China Kennisquiz' @leidenasiacentre.nl in Den Haag De plekken raken snel vol, dus meld je snel aan en win mooie prijzen⤵️ @cineasiaonline.bsky.social

TEMU'S PHASE 3: ‘BUILDING A NEW PINDUODUO’ We have published a short report on Tech Buzz China that explains the meaning of Temu's phase 3. Because we think it's important for a broad audience to understand, we have made it free to read for everybody. techbuzzchina.substack.com/p/temus-phas...

HEB JIJ JE AL AANGEMELD? Op 3 februari 2026 barst de strijd om de Grote China Kennisquiz wisselbeker weer los... www.linkedin.com/posts/edsand...

Het gaat nu hard met de inschrijvingen voor de GCKQ26. Wie bij het leukste China-evenement in Nederland wil zijn moet snel zijn. leidenasiacentre.nl/event/de-gro...

HOW ALIBABA’S HEMA SUPERMARKETS COPIED SAM’S CLUB (AGAIN) substack.com/@techbuzzchi...

Het is „op zich een goed besluit”, zegt Ed Sander, doelend op de aanstaande Europese heffingen op Chinese pakketjes. „Maar als ze verwachten dat dit Temu gaat stoppen, moet ik ze teleurstellen.” archive.ph/8yrLo#select...

De inschrijving is geopend. #GCKQ2026 leidenasiacentre.nl/event/de-gro...

Last night a massive attack on Kuaishou streaming service saw many channels livestreaming pornography for 20 minutes or so.-- leading to a full shut down of streaming functions. Kuaishou has now made an official statement. mp.weixin.qq.com/s/LduUOAZw3i... mp.weixin.qq.com/s/7CEx8mu78j...

IN MEMORIAM - BART HORSTEN We shouldn't be focused solely on what we accomplished this year. We should also look back at what we have lost. Here's to a wonderful, warm person we have lost this year. www.chinatalk.nl/in-memoriam-...

DRASTIC SHIFTS IN THE CHINESE SUPERMARKET SECTOR I tried to capture everything happening in the Chinese supermarket sector in one slide. Explanation: substack.com/@techbuzzchi...

Feed: "Tech Buzz China Insider" By: Tech Buzz China on Friday, November 21, 2025

INSTANT RETAIL WAR CAUSES CARNAGE IN MEITUAN’S QUARTERLY RESULTS substack.com/@techbuzzchi...

SOME ACTUAL DATA ON DOUBLE ELEVEN (SINGLES DAY)? www.linkedin.com/posts/edsand...

THE IMPACT OF QUICK COMMERCE ON ALIBABA'S Q3 RESULTS substack.com/@techbuzzchi...

WHAT IS THE NEXT CHINA E-COMMERCE THREAT? substack.com/@techbuzzchi...

Visual Report: JD.com's JD Mall Strategy How JD wants to grow its business by opening more than 30 malls. My new report for Tech Buzz China. techbuzzchina.substack.com/p/visual-rep...