Alibaba Group is strengthening its position in China’s fast-growing instant retail market through a new partnership with lifestyle content platform RedNote, also known as Xiaohongshu.
The collaboration allows RedNote users to directly access and shop products from Alibaba’s Taobao platform via embedded product links, effectively formalizing an app-to-app shopping experience.
“By combining Taobao and Tmall’s commerce expertise with Xiaohongshu’s strength in lifestyle content, we’re helping brands reach consumers more effectively,” said Liu Bo, vice president of Alibaba Group and president of Tmall.
The strategic partnership comes amid intensifying competition among China’s e-commerce giants and subdued consumer sentiment. The battle for market share has shifted toward the instant retail segment, which began with food delivery but now includes electronics and apparel delivered within an hour.
Meituan currently dominates China’s instant retail space, with Alibaba’s Ele.me in second place. JD.com recently entered the segment more aggressively by expanding its food delivery business, JD Takeaway, to include restaurant services.
Alibaba has ramped up instant retail efforts through Taobao, offering one-hour delivery via its “instant commerce” portal supported by Ele.me’s logistics network. The company recently announced it fulfilled 10 million instant retail orders within five days.
Both Alibaba and JD.com are heavily subsidizing purchases to win over consumers. JD.com pledged over 10 billion yuan ($1.38 billion) this year for instant retail initiatives, while Alibaba focuses on fast-moving consumer goods and healthcare categories in its pilot integration with RedNote.
The RedNote-Taobao connection is expected to enhance user engagement and accelerate Alibaba’s growth in China’s evolving e-commerce landscape.
