commerce platforms help exporters tap into domestic market

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Chinese e-commerce platforms help exporters tap into domestic market

By Wang Ke, Liu Shiyao (People's Daily) 09:56, May 15, 2025

An event aiming at promoting premium export-oriented products in domestic market is held in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu province, April 19, 2025. (Photo by Wang Luxian/People's Daily Online)

In response to the challenges posed by changes in the external market environment, a number of Chinese e-commerce platforms have introduced a range of initiatives, including direct procurement, dedicated sales zones, traffic support, and supplier-buyer matchmaking, to help export-oriented enterprises expand into China's domestic market. These efforts have yielded encouraging results.

"Our shop on WeChat recorded over one million yuan ($138,560.77) in single-day sales for the first time," said Li Xiongfei, head of a kitchenware manufacturing company based in east China's Zhejiang province. The company's products are primarily exported to North America, Europe, and the Middle East markets.

Recently, Tencent, the tech giant that operates the social media app WeChat, rolled out 10 support measures, including fast-track onboarding, incentives for new merchants, traffic support, and commission discounts, to help foreign trade enterprises broaden their access to both domestic and international markets.

In 2023, the kitchenware manufacturer ventured into an online shop on WeChat, but due to limited operational experience, the results were modest. With the new support policies in place, Tencent's business solutions team began providing "one-on-one" coaching on livestream planning and visual design, gradually improving the company's performance.

Photo shows a logistics park of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com in Hefei, east China's Anhui province. (Photo by Yuan Bing/People's Daily Online)

"For example, during our livestreams, the platform advised us to highlight the cookware's light weight and ease of cleaning -- features domestic consumers' priorities. As a result, viewership jumped from a few hundred to tens of thousands," Li said.

Wang Zhuo, head of the business solutions team for WeChat online stores, noted that many export-oriented enterprises have highly competitive products, with strong fundamentals in materials, design, and quality control. By optimizing their sales strategies to better align with domestic consumer preferences, such companies can gradually build brand recognition and connect with broader customer bases.

According to a Ministry of Commerce official, in line with the overarching plan for an initiative aiming at promoting premium export-oriented products in the domestic market, efforts are underway to leverage e-commerce's distribution advantages and China's position as the global leader in online retail market to facilitate export companies in shifting to domestic sales.

15 leading e-commerce platforms have responded actively, implementing 8 categories of measures including direct order procurement and supplier-buyer matchmaking.

As of April 23, 9 platforms had opened fast-track onboarding channels, while 6 had established domestic sales zones, facilitating over 6,000 connections with foreign trade enterprises, more than 600 of which have already opened online shops.

Children buy stuffed toys at an event promoting the domestic sales of export-oriented products in Yangzhou, east China's Jiangsu province, April 26, 2025. (Photo by Meng Delong/People's Daily Online)

Ma Hong, general manager of Zhuhai K·SKIN Co., Ltd. (K·SKIN), a manufacturer specializing in electronic beauty devices and haircare products, told People's Daily that within just half a day, Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com helped the company identify over 10,000 shelf-ready products for immediate listing.

K·SKIN has long focused on overseas markets, selling products such as hair straighteners, facial steamers, and beauty devices. After learning of the company's needs, JD.com's personal care appliances team responded quickly. The head of the beauty appliance division led a team to Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong province for in-depth discussions. Together, they swiftly selected products for immediate domestic sale, with additional support to follow, such as adding Chinese-language manuals to facilitate the products' entry into the domestic market.

Recently, JD.com announced its plan to purchase no less than 200 billion yuan worth of export-oriented products for domestic sales over the coming year. Leveraging its self-operated model and robust supply chain, JD.com will directly source high-quality products from foreign trade enterprises and launch a dedicated online zone for premium export-oriented goods to accelerate market entry. The platform will also provide intensive training programs for onboarded merchants.