𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐚’𝐬 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐬’ 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐦

Tmall dropped its cross-store "spend X, save Y" coupons this year. The headline discount now comes out of the brand's own pocket.

Part 1 of this Double 11 series asked who funds each discount, and now that the festival is live, the rules give the answer.

Shoppers get simpler math: five of the seven platforms I track now lead with one cut on each item. Tmall president Jialuo told reporters that simplicity was the core consideration (Lanjing News).

Behind that one price sit three wallets.

The brand pays the headline cut. On Tmall it is the entry ticket: a store-wide cut in every category the brand joins, at least 1%, 5% or 15% depending on category. Tmall's merchant rules, reported by ebrun, ask the merchant to fund it. Douyin asks for 15% off the registered price, or a cut the merchant sets, both paid by the merchant (IT Home).

The platform adds a coupon on top, and neither Tmall nor Douyin publishes that budget.
The government adds trade-in money on appliances, phones and computers: China set aside 250 billion yuan for trade-ins in 2026 and released the final quarter by September 30, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

Put together on Tmall, the brand cut and the platform coupon take some prices as low as 72% of list. Adding the trade-in subsidy takes appliances, phones and computers as low as 65% (Cover News).

WeChat, which formally joins Double 11 this year, does the opposite: it splits its cross-store coupons 50/50 with merchants and can pay the whole coupon for its best stores (WeChat Stores policy, reported by ebrun).

Three pressures explain the timing. Growth stalled, with sales at 618, the June festival, up only 4% this year (Syntun). In June, Beijing regulators faulted five platforms over promotions, including "10-billion subsidies" that hid the amounts and who paid (21st Century Business Herald). And on October 10, seven ministries targeted automatic price-matching and "lowest price online" practices (Beijing News).

For brands selling in China, three decisions follow:

1. The rate you register is your margin decision, and on Tmall it covers the whole store.
2. Compare who co-funds, platform by platform, before you commit inventory.
3. Price the order that stays, not the order sold: as Part 3 showed, the sale is final only on day eight.

If you sell in China: did the simpler rules cost you margin this year, or save you some?

#Double11 #ChinaRetail #Ecommerce #Pricing #RetailStrategy

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bruno.gentil@sherpaconsultingasia.com

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