Chinese e-commerce platform operator JD.com introduced a gifting feature on its mobile app on Friday, joining rival Alibaba Group Holding in countering competitive pressure from social media giant Tencent Holdings, which launched a similar feature last month.
When users of the JD.com app browse a selection of eligible merchandise, they will see a button labeled “Gifting IT.” After clicking, users follow a few simple steps to pay for an item and have it shipped directly to the recipient.
The addition of this feature comes ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday later this month. It follows Tencent’s discreet introduction of a new feature in December, allowing WeChat users to buy and send gifts via the super app.
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The move sparked discussions about WeChat’s growing potential as Tencent’s latest weapon in China’s fiercely competitive e-commerce market.
Alibaba’s Taobao marketplace followed suit earlier this month with a revamp of its existing gifting service, allowing users to buy for others. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.
A Lunar New Year bazaar in Beijing. Photo: AP Photo alt=A Lunar New Year bazaar in Beijing. Photo: AP Photo>
JD.com’s new gifting feature highlights the growing competition in China’s online shopping sector, amid sputtering economic growth and increased government scrutiny of unhealthy price wars. Established players such as Alibaba and JD.com are already facing stiff competition from PDD Holdings’ Pinduoduo and ByteDance’s Douyin.
While Tencent continues to rely on video games and social media as its main revenue pillars, it has also doubled down on e-commerce. In mid-2024, WeChat renamed its e-commerce platform – which allows entrepreneurs to set up an online store for free – to WeChat Mini Shop.
Tencent said it provided WeChat Mini Shop merchants with increased traffic and transaction support, emphasizing that WeChat’s social interaction, content platform and payment capabilities could help store owners reach customers effectively and boost sales.
The initiative was part of Tencent’s enhanced e-commerce strategy to “create a unified and reliable transaction experience” across the WeChat ecosystem, which had 1.38 billion monthly active users, the company said in its earnings report on the third quarter.
