Aug 26, 2026|
JD.com Shares Growth Playbook for UK Brands in China at CBBC 2026 UK-China Brand Excellence Summit
On August 20, JD.com joined the 2026 UK-China Brand Excellence Summit, hosted by the China-Britain Business Council (CBBC) in Shanghai, to share practical insights on how UK brands can enter China, understand local consumers, and build sustainable growth.
The summit brought together more than 150 industry experts from over 20 brands to explore China’s evolving consumer market, growth opportunities for UK brands and the international expansion of Chinese companies.
Speaking on the panel “The Creation of an E-commerce Phenomenon vs. a Slow-Burn Offline Presence: How to Build an Omnichannel Strategy,” Marcia Mao, General Manager of Business Development at JINGDONG Cross-Border, the cross-border import e-commerce platform under JD.com, outlined a four-stage pathway JD.com has observed among international brands entering China: cross-border market testing, consumer engagement through localised content, brand building and omnichannel growth.
For emerging and mid-sized UK brands in particular, Mao highlighted cross-border e-commerce as an asset-light way to test the market. Brands can start with lower upfront investment and lighter inventory, use real consumer feedback to identify their target audiences and potential hero products, and then scale behind what works.
“China is a huge market, but that doesn’t mean every customer is your customer. Start light, find the right customer base, learn from real customer feedback, and then invest behind what works,” said Mao.
Today, JINGDONG Cross-Border offers products from more than 20,000 international brands across over 100 countries and regions. Its “10 Billion GigaGrowth Plan”, launched in 2025, aims to introduce 1,000 new international brands to China over three years, supported by JD.com’s capabilities across global sourcing, supply chain and logistics solutions, localised marketing, consumer insights and more.
As brands move beyond initial market testing, Mao noted that the focus increasingly shifts from simply selling products to building consumer recognition through storytelling and more local engagement. JD.com works with international brands on localised content, livestreaming and origin visits to bring their heritage, craftsmanship and brand stories closer to Chinese consumers.
Omnichannel engagement is another important part of this journey. Experience-led categories such as fragrances, wines and food can benefit from physical trial and discovery, while higher-consideration purchases such as jewelry, watches and furniture often require greater trust and hands-on experience. Toys, IP products and other impulse-driven categories can similarly benefit from offline discovery followed by convenient online purchasing.
By the end of Q2 2026, 30 JD MALLs were operating across China, providing physical spaces for consumers to discover and experience products. Combined with JD.com’s e-commerce, consumer insights and fulfillment capabilities, these touchpoints can help brands turn offline engagement into digital relationships, identify “seed” consumers and reach relevant audiences more effectively online.
JD MALL in Shanghai’s Qibao commercial district, opened in June 2026.
JD.com’s participation builds on its growing collaboration with CBBC. In January 2026, the two organizations signed a long-term strategic partnership to support more UK brands entering the Chinese market, connecting British businesses with JD.com’s more than 700 million customers and its broader retail and supply chain ecosystem.
The summit brought together a broad UK-China business community, including Dettol, Little Moons, Diageo, Ahmad Tea, MINISO and Florasis. The event was opened by Tom Simpson, Managing Director & Chief Representative, China at CBBC; Sohail Shaikh, Deputy HM Trade Commissioner for China, and representatives from Shanghai’s Xuhui District.
Building on its partnership with CBBC, JD.com will continue working with the UK business community to help more brands understand Chinese consumers, navigate the market and scale sustainably. This includes its participation in the UK-to-China Trade Booster, alongside CBBC, HSBC UK and ICBC London, providing UK businesses with practical market-readiness, route-to-market, and commercial support while fostering greater two-way business exchange between China and the UK.
(vivian.yang@jd.com)
Aug 24, 2026|
JD.com Unveils Robotics Strategy at World Robot Conference
JD.com unveiled its robotics strategy at the 2026 World Robot Conference (WRC 2026), outlining plans to commit RMB 10 billion in resources to the sector by 2028 and accelerate the deployment of robots across homes, businesses and public services.
JD.com’s strategy focuses on supply chain, lifecycle services and technology. Leveraging its retail, logistics, healthcare, industrial and service businesses, the company aims to help robotics companies move more quickly from product development to large-scale commercial deployment.
Held in Beijing from 19 to 23 August, WRC 2026 brings together companies, researchers and industry experts from around the world. At WRC 2026, JD.com has created a 600-square-metre immersive exhibition space with robotic brands and partners.
Supporting Robotics Growth Through Supply Chain Capabilities
JD.com plans to invest RMB 10 billion in resources to the robotics sector by 2028. The company aims to help 100 robotics brands each generate more than RMB 1 billion in sales, bringing consumer robots to households in China and worldwide.
JD.com’s first-party retail business already joined by more than 200 robotics brands, as well as a wide range of manufacturers of core robot components, serving individual and household consumers.
Building Lifecycle Services
JD.com expects to establish robotics after-sales service capabilities covering more than 100 countries and support the creation of more than 100,000 jobs for robotics service engineers, over the next five years.
The company also plans to establish 80 RoboBase facilities that offers an integrated service platform covering the entire robotics lifecycle. Services will include product display and delivery, repair and maintenance, research and design, pilot assembly, data collection, manufacturing and product upgrades, aiming to help robotics companies manage the servicing and maintenance of products at scale, while giving customers access to more reliable after-sales support.
Accelerating Real-World Deployment
JD.com’s JoyInside embodied intelligence platform is developing an “AI Home” ecosystem that empower smart devices with AI capabilities. By the end of 2026, more than 10 million devices and robots are expected to be connected to the ecosystem.
The company’s cloud business, JD Cloud, also plans to collect more than 10 million hours of high quality training data needed by robotics over the next two years, leveraging the company’s real-world scenarios across commercial operations such as retail, logistics, healthcare, services and more.
These capabilities are intended to help robots move beyond laboratories and operate reliably in real-world environments, supporting JD.com’s ambition to become the World’s Largest Operational Platform for the Physical World.
Wide Applications of Robots in Operations
Robots are already being deployed across a variety of JD.com operations. Applications include customer assistance, shelf replenishment and coffee preparation in JD MALL stores; warehousing, goods handling, automated sorting and autonomous delivery in logistics; and fault diagnosis, battery replacement, equipment maintenance and recycling in robotics servicing. Robots are also being tested in healthcare services, including automated packing in pharmacies and assisted-living services for older people.
JD.com is also working with more than 20 robotics brands on standardised battery products, covering categories including embodied intelligence robots and wheeled and legged robots. By setting common specifications for battery dimensions, interfaces, communication protocols and safety requirements, the company will work with robotics partners to improve battery safety while reducing operating costs and increasing efficiency.
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