On May 24, 2026, the cross-border e-commerce field showed many new developments.
First, let’s look at the dynamics of overseas cross-border e-commerce platforms.
As for Coupang, the expansion of free shipping triggered industry protests.
Coupang Eats announced that it will extend the free delivery promotion to ordinary members. It plans to open the free delivery promotion to ordinary members for about 2-3 months by August this year. It was previously only available to WOW paid members.
This move is considered to be related to the acquisition of South Korean food delivery giant “Takeout Nation” and is a strategic layout to ensure users.
However, South Korea’s small business groups reacted strongly. Five major groups issued a joint statement on May 22, accusing “the platform’s bleeding competition costs are likely to eventually be passed on to small businesses.” They were worried that the rising burden of handling fees and advertising fees would drive up food prices and spread the “dual price structure.”
The Korean Consumer Group Association also analyzed that “the delivery fee of 0 won is only free in name.” The actual cost is borne indirectly by consumers through membership fees, food prices, platform fees, etc.
In addition, convenience store instant delivery cooperation has expanded, and GS25 plans to gradually expand Coupang Eats’ 24-hour regional delivery scope. CU has begun to provide delivery services from 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. in more than 7,500 stores across the country through Coupang Eats, completing a 24-hour delivery system.
7-Eleven also plans to offer 24-hour delivery through Coupang Eats from next month, and Emart24 is also considering expanding delivery hours.
At the same time, Coupang’s corporate compliance disputes are affecting the US-South Korea alliance. According to a report by the New York Times on May 23, the compliance disputes between Coupang and the South Korean government have intensified tensions between Seoul and Washington.
As for Amazon, on May 23, the Memorial Day promotion on the US site started. Amazon and other major online retailers launched large-scale Memorial Day holiday weekend promotions, providing deep discounts in fashion, technology, home appliances and other categories, covering brands such as Apple, Adidas, and Ninja.
According to the latest global e-commerce website traffic data released by We Are Social (December 2025 to February 2026), Amazon.com ranks first in the world with 514 million unique visitors and 2.7 billion monthly visits.
At the same time, the scale of the Latin American e-commerce market is expected to exceed US$215 billion in 2026. The focus of industry competition has shifted from “user growth” in the early stage to “efficiency improvement”. Brands are increasingly paying attention to conversion rates, repurchase rates and user experience optimization.
Previous key news reminder (mid-May): Amazon has submitted the identity information, transaction volume, income, commission and service fee data of Chinese sellers in Q1 2026 to the Chinese tax authorities, and has opened a download channel for tax reports; in mid-May, a large-scale AI review was launched, and more than 2,000 stores were suddenly suspended; on June 30, the European station COO compliance enforcement deadline.
Temu has restarted its operations in Vietnam and applied for e-commerce qualifications. It has quietly restarted after being banned for about a year and a half. It is cooperating with the Bureau of E-commerce and Digital Economy of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam to register its qualifications to provide e-commerce services in Vietnam. Orders for goods are now available.
A large number of merchants are flocking to the new site, but currently the Temu Vietnam site has set a minimum consumption threshold of 887,000 VND (approximately US$34). The payment method only supports bank cards and Apple Pay, and has not yet been connected to the local mainstream Momo and Zalo Pay.
In May 2026, Temu will say goodbye to 0 commission and charge 5% – 15% commission for all categories (the specific proportion varies by category), and will simultaneously raise compliance thresholds such as taxation, product certification, and intellectual property rights.
According to the latest global e-commerce website traffic data released by We Are Social (from December 2025 to February 2026), Temu has 1.34 billion monthly visits, ranking second in the world, with 366 million unique visitors, second only to Amazon.
Goldman Sachs’ latest research report is bullish on Pinduoduo, predicting that Temu will reach a profit turning point in 2027.
Previous key news reminder (mid-May): The small tax exemption of $800 in the United States has taken effect in May, and the low-customer unit price direct mail model is facing cost pressure; the audit intensity of the European station has been upgraded, and some sellers have had their accounts restricted and funds frozen due to failed verification.
As for TikTok Shop, on May 23, TikTok Shop officially announced that it will open platform access to all Irish companies, shifting from the previous invitation-only model to fully open operations.
Any Irish brand can sell to consumers across the country through TikTok Shop and expand its market influence with the help of the platform’s creator ecosystem.
Since entering the Irish market, the number of local active creators has increased by 600%, and the cumulative commission paid to creators by the affiliate program has exceeded 2 million euros.
It is worth noting that users aged 46-61 in Ireland account for the highest proportion of platform shopping users (37%), showing that the audience for content e-commerce is no longer limited to young people.
The fee increase in Vietnam has been subject to an antitrust investigation. The National Competition Commission of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam has officially intervened to investigate the fee adjustment policies of Shopee and TikTok Shop, requiring the two major platforms to explain the fee increase that will be implemented from May 2026 to examine whether they violate the Competition Law.
Previous key news reminder (mid-May): From January to April, TikTok Shop’s US sales were approximately US$6.75 billion (double year-on-year), and small and medium-sized sellers increased by 25% year-on-year.
In terms of the dynamics of domestic mainstream e-commerce platforms, the 2026 “6·18” promotion has quietly opened.
Different from previous years when various platforms jumped ahead, this year’s big promotion no longer emphasizes the duration, but puts AI to the forefront.
For the first time, JD.com has integrated all scenarios into AI, and Alibaba has taken the lead to fully integrate Qianwen and Taobao. Users can complete product selection, comparison and ordering by talking to AI.
AI tools have achieved remarkable results in cost reduction and efficiency improvement: Taochangxing Xinghuo AI system has reduced merchants’ comprehensive costs by 50%, increased the hot-selling rate by 2.5 times, and the per capita annual output value has jumped from 600,000 yuan to 2 million yuan; Alimama’s AI Wanxiang investment ROI has increased by more than 30%; JD.com’s digital human live broadcast and AI intelligent customer service have helped merchants save more than 60% of labor.
During JD.com’s 618, Chunxiao’s plan was increased for a limited time, investing another 1 billion yuan in resources and five major rights and interests to help small and medium-sized merchants. In the first quarter, the plan has reduced costs for merchants by about 5.7 billion, driving new merchants’ GMV to increase by nearly 40% year-on-year.
In May 2026, the scale of China’s instant retail market officially exceeded 1 trillion yuan, becoming the third largest local living infrastructure after traditional e-commerce and takeout.
Alibaba Group Chairman Tsai Chongxin and CEO Wu Yongming clearly stated in a letter to shareholders that instant retail has become a core strategic pillar of Taobao and Tmall platform upgrades. Alibaba will increase investment in full-stack AI capabilities and create “AI + cloud” as a new growth driver.
Suning.com also announced an upgrade of its real-time retail business strategy and plans to develop a trillion-level track.
According to Sky News, JD.com is considering a potential acquisition of British online shopping platform The Very Group, with a valuation of about 2 billion pounds.
In terms of domestic fiscal and taxation regulations and new cross-border e-commerce policies, the Ministry of Finance, the General Administration of Customs, and the State Administration of Taxation jointly issued an announcement (No. 16, 2026) on the cross-border e-commerce customs supervision codes (1210, 9610, 9710, 9810) from January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2027.
) declared for export, goods (excluding food) that are returned in their original condition within 6 months from the date of export due to unsalable or returned goods are exempt from import duties and import-link value-added tax and consumption tax; the export duties already collected at the time of export are allowed to be refunded, and the value-added tax and consumption tax collected at the time of export shall be governed by the relevant tax regulations on the return of domestically sold goods.
The economic and trade consensus reached during Trump’s visit to China in May 2026 has created a “strategic window period” for the cross-border e-commerce industry until November 2026.
The United States promised that future tariff levels against China will not exceed the standards set by the “Joint Arrangement for Economic and Trade Consultations in Kuala Lumpur” in October 2025, and agreed to explore a reciprocal tax reduction framework for a list of products worth US$30 billion or more each.
Previous key news reminder (mid-May): Amazon has officially submitted tax-related reports to the tax authorities in Q1 of 2026, and the platform’s direct tax system is fully operational; in 2026, the cross-border e-commerce approved collection model will be tightened on a large scale, and the focus of collection and management will shift to audit collection.
