JD.com is one of China’s largest online retailers. It buys and sells much of its range itself, delivers through its own logistics network, and also hosts third-party stores. For a foreign brand, JD offers three routes: supplying JD’s own retail, opening a store on its open platform, or selling across the border through JD Worldwide.
What makes JD.com different?
JD.com started selling online in 2004 and is part of JD.com, Inc. Unlike Taobao, which is a marketplace, JD runs a hybrid model:
- Self-operated retail: JD buys goods from brands and distributors, stores them in its warehouses, sells them under its own name and handles after-sales service.
- Open platform: third-party merchants run their own stores on JD, alongside the self-operated range.
- Own logistics: JD Logistics runs the warehouses and delivery network, with fast delivery promises such as “211”, where orders placed before a cut-off time arrive the same day or the next morning in many cities.
JD is strongest in electronics, home appliances and everyday consumer goods, where buyers care most about authenticity and delivery.
Why Chinese shoppers choose JD
- Authenticity: the self-operated model reduces the risk of counterfeits, which matters most for expensive products such as phones, computers and appliances.
- Fast delivery: with its own warehouses and couriers, JD delivers the next day or the same day in many areas.
- After-sales service: price protection, returns within seven days for most goods, and pickup at the buyer’s door for returns and exchanges.
- Wide range: from electronics to fresh groceries and imported goods.
- The 618 festival: JD’s anniversary sale on June 18 has become one of the biggest shopping events of the year in China.
- Technology: JD has invested in warehouse automation, AI customer service and delivery experiments such as drones.
How can a foreign brand sell on JD?
- Become a supplier to JD’s self-operated retail: JD buys your products and sells them itself. You negotiate as a supplier, usually through an importer or a Chinese entity.
- Open a store on the JD open platform: you run the store, set prices and handle marketing, and either ship orders yourself or store goods in JD’s warehouses and use its delivery. A domestic store requires a company registered in China, a business license and brand qualifications.
- Sell through JD Worldwide: JD’s cross-border channel for overseas brands, a way to sell to China without a Chinese entity, with goods shipped to Chinese consumers under the cross-border retail import rules. Our guide to cross-border e-commerce in China explains those rules and the other channels.
The process starts with a merchant account, then the qualifications (business license, brand registration or authorization), the review, and the choice of store type and categories. JD’s requirements on brands and qualifications are high, which suits mid-range and premium brands. A JD store also works best with channels you control: our article on driving traffic to your China e-commerce store shows how brands reduce their dependence on marketplaces.
JD vs Tmall
Tmall, Alibaba’s brand marketplace, hosts brand stores that ship through logistics partners, while JD sells a large part of its range itself and delivers it with its own network. Many brands sell on both. Through JD Worldwide or Tmall Global, a foreign brand can test both audiences without a company in China.
How QPSoftware can help
A JD store brings traffic and trust, but the brand also needs channels where it owns the customer relationship. QPSoftware, a digital agency in Shanghai since 2009, offers cross-border e-commerce services for China: cross-border websites, WeChat stores and Mini Programs, with payment in RMB and settlement in your currency.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a foreign company sell on JD.com?
Yes, in several ways. Without a Chinese entity, a foreign brand can apply to JD Worldwide, JD’s cross-border channel, or supply JD’s self-operated retail through an importer. A store on JD’s domestic open platform requires a company registered in China, a business license and brand qualifications. Each route has its own review, fees and category rules, published on JD’s merchant pages.
What is JD Worldwide?
JD Worldwide is JD.com’s cross-border channel. Overseas brands and retailers sell imported goods to Chinese consumers, who buy within the cross-border retail import limits and pay lower import taxes than under general trade. Goods ship from bonded warehouses in China or from abroad. It suits brands that want to test the Chinese market before setting up a local company.
How does JD.com differ from Taobao and Tmall?
Taobao and Tmall are marketplaces run by Alibaba: merchants own the stores and ship through logistics partners. JD.com sells a large part of its range itself and delivers with its own logistics network, which gives it a reputation for authenticity and fast delivery, especially in electronics and home appliances. JD also hosts third-party stores, so it combines retail and marketplace.