JD.com

Nine dimensions merchants should review before joining:

Merchant snapshot

Suited to standardized-product brands in 3C/home appliances and merchants that need heavyweight logistics: self-operated (1P) plus self-built logistics give the strongest authenticity perception, but margins are under pressure and new businesses such as food delivery are burning cash.

Entry requirements

Self-operated (1P) is JD.com's procurement-and-consignment model: merchants supply, the platform prices and fulfills, and the threshold is high. The open platform (POP) requires enterprise qualifications plus brand authorization, plus a security deposit and platform usage fee; about 80% of categories support RMB-0 trial store openings [Paidai]. Overseas merchants can join via the JD International / Global Purchase (京东全球购) channel. Language is primarily Chinese.

Fee structure

Self-operated is a supply/co-op model (JD sets prices, takes category-based commission points, pays suppliers on account cycles). POP charges a platform usage fee + security deposit + category commission points (per the official fee schedule). Ads run on Jingzhuntong (JD Express 京东快车 / Shopping Touchpoints 购物触点 / HaiTou 海投). JD Logistics warehousing and delivery fees are billed per service. Since February 2025 the platform entered food delivery with heavy subsidies; new businesses such as delivery lost about RMB 46.6B in 2025 (dubbed the 'biggest money pit'), and the subsidy-period traffic dividend is obvious but unsustainable.

Getting traffic

Search + recommendation organic traffic (with a clear tilt toward self-operated items; strongest mindshare in 3C/home appliances). The Jingzhuntong ad system; PLUS members drive high repeat purchases; JD Miaosong (京东秒送) instant retail and food delivery add high-frequency new scenarios. Double 11 '25 DAU of 227 million; 700M+ annual active users.

Fulfilment & logistics

JD Logistics' self-built warehousing and delivery offers the strongest same-day/next-day experience in China. Merchants can stock in JD warehouses (integrated warehousing and delivery) or self-fulfill; POP merchants using JD Logistics get experience-score and traffic weighting. Cold chain covers fresh food.

Payments & settlement

JD Pay plus WeChat Pay/Alipay etc., settled in RMB. Self-operated suppliers settle per contract billing cycles (typically several dozen days); POP settles per the billing cycle after order confirmation (per platform rules).

Compliance

Enterprise qualifications, brand authorization and quality-inspection reports are required. 3C/home appliances need mandatory CCC certification. Domestic e-commerce pays taxes. Platform rules are strict (authenticity guarantee, 7-day no-reason returns). JD Logistics carriage has safety and compliance requirements.

Key risks

(1) New businesses (food delivery/instant retail) lost about RMB 46.6B in 2025, and order retention after subsidies taper is uncertain (the three giants together burned roughly RMB 220B in one year); (2) revenue up, profit down — 2025 revenue +13% but conflicting net-profit figures (RMB 27B vs 19.6B) and media reports of 'sharply lower profits'; (3) the debate over whether Douyin has caught up to or surpassed JD's GMV continues (JD denies it, claiming it still leads by about RMB 1 trillion); (4) self-operated suppliers face price-negotiation and billing-cycle pressure, while POP merchants face logistics-binding costs.

Best-fit sellers

Best suited to standardized-product brands in 3C/home appliances/digital/mother-and-baby and manufacturers/brands with strong supply chains (able to accept billing cycles and quality inspection). POP suits small/medium brands leveraging the logistics-experience halo. Not suited to pure low-price white-label goods or high-frequency low-priced small items (logistics costs are too high a share for margins to cover).

Sources

1. pai.com.cn
2. stock.10jqka.com.cn
3. stcn.com
4. api.bianews.com