Sou Hu Cai Jing·2025-09-16 02:19Core Insights - JD.com has lost its prominent position in WeChat as the "Discover - Shopping" entry will be closed on September 30, which has been a significant source of traffic for the company [2] - The closure of this entry is a natural outcome following the expiration of the three-year strategic cooperation agreement between JD.com and Tencent, which was renewed in June 2022 [2][3] - The partnership between JD.com and Tencent, which began in 2014, has evolved over the years, with both companies now at a new strategic phase [3] Summary by Sections Partnership History - JD.com and Tencent's collaboration started in 2014 when Tencent invested $215 million in JD.com, providing it with a significant entry point on WeChat [3] - This partnership allowed JD.com to leverage Tencent's resources to enhance its supply chain and logistics capabilities, which were previously lacking in Tencent's e-commerce strategy [3] Changes in Traffic Dynamics - After 2018, the rise of Pinduoduo shifted the traffic dynamics on WeChat, leading JD.com to allocate the "Discover - Shopping" entry to its sub-brand "Jingxi" while relying more on other service touchpoints [4] - The strategic shift reflects Tencent's rebalancing of traffic distribution and highlights the differing cooperation logic between JD.com and Tencent [4] Strategic Unbinding - Despite ongoing collaborations, the decision to remove the traffic entry point indicates a strategic divergence between JD.com and Tencent, particularly in their approaches to e-commerce [6][9] - Tencent's focus has shifted towards independent growth opportunities in e-commerce, such as video commerce and high-end brands, reducing the necessity of binding the entry point to JD.com [7][9] Future E-commerce Strategy - Tencent's recent moves indicate a clear direction in its e-commerce strategy, with significant growth in video commerce and the introduction of new features to enhance the shopping experience on WeChat [10][12] - The company aims to consolidate its e-commerce operations, moving from merely being a traffic distributor to becoming a key player in transaction facilitation [12]