Chinese Social Media App Xiaohongshu Officially Enters Cross-border E-commerce
Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu officially enters cross-border e-commerce
At the beginning of 2025, a "cyber migration" swept the world due to the US demand for TikTok's "ban if not sold" bill. In just two days, over 700000 overseas users claiming to be "TikTok refugees" flooded into Xiaohongshu, pushing it to the top of the App Store download charts in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and other places.
This sudden surge in traffic not only led to a nearly 200% increase in daily active users (DAUs) on Xiaohongshu, but also added some confidence to its global business.
AMZ123 learned that on March 10th, Xiaohongshu officially launched the "E-commerce Overseas Navigation Plan", covering the first phase of the US, Hong Kong, and Macau markets. According to the official introduction, the plan integrates full chain services such as online transactions, trade exports, cross-border payments, and localized operations, aiming to provide merchants with a one-stop solution to help them break through geographical limitations and reach global users more efficiently.
Specifically, merchants who join the program will enjoy four exclusive benefits:
1. Accurately reaching overseas markets
With the unique "note seeding" and precise algorithm recommendations of Xiaohongshu, businesses can efficiently reach consumers in overseas markets such as the United States, Hong Kong, and Macau. The intelligent translation and cross-border logistics support provided by the platform enable sellers to easily overcome the dual barriers of language and logistics.
2. Intelligent AI translation eliminates language barriers
The AI intelligent translation function of Xiaohongshu can automatically translate product information and note content into multiple languages. Meanwhile, merchants can also use AI translation to respond to inquiries from overseas customers.
3. Full chain logistics solution
Xiaohongshu and official logistics partners have jointly launched a full chain logistics solution, which can ensure that goods can be safely and stably delivered to overseas consumers without worrying about complex logistics processes.
4. One stop efficient management
Merchants can achieve one-stop management through Xiaohongshu's Qianfan system, including order processing, product management, marketing activity settings, and other operations.
However, at present, the plan is still in the internal testing stage, and only some invited Chinese sellers can participate. Invited sellers can view notifications related to the "Overseas Agreement" on the backend of Xiaohongshu Qianfan and independently manage the overseas status of their products. It is reported that Xiaohongshu will gradually expand its opening scope based on internal testing, but the specific full opening time has not been determined and further official notification is still needed.
AMZ123 has learned that many cross-border sellers are still unclear about the specific content and gameplay of Xiaohongshu's official overseas plan, which has just been disclosed. Especially during the internal testing phase, many people only heard the outline of the plan but did not see the specific operational details and effectiveness, so there are generally the following doubts among the seller group:
Firstly, the policy details are vague: the calculation rules and pricing mechanisms for freight charges have not yet been made transparent.
Although the official has revealed that taxes and international shipping fees are borne by consumers, merchants only need to send the goods to the designated transfer warehouse on Xiaohongshu according to the promised delivery time. Subsequent customs clearance and logistics transportation will be completed by Xiaohongshu's cooperative transfer warehouse, and users can view the entire logistics trajectory on their mobile phones. But according to the seller's feedback, they were unable to find clear terms related to shipping and pricing in the agreement, which also left them unsure. Some sellers even bluntly said, "After searching for a long time, we haven't seen the issue of shipping fees, and the details of pricing are even more elusive. We dare not easily agree to the agreement, can we ask Xiaohongshu to give us a clearer answer
Secondly, there is the anxiety of implicit costs.
Industry insiders have revealed that currently participating merchants in Xiaohongshu's overseas plan do not need to pay a deposit, and if the overseas goods involve taxes, international shipping fees, exchange rate differences, and other expenses, merchants do not need to bear these costs.
Although the current commission free policy may seem attractive, merchants are still concerned that once the agreement is signed, the subsequent fees may suddenly change, and there may even be high transaction fees. This' invisible risk 'has left many sellers hesitant and eager for clearer rate policies, or at least to understand whether fees can be negotiated and adjusted once signed.
In addition, some sellers who have been invited by the platform to go abroad have raised concerns about restrictions on product participation Only a very small number of products in the store can participate in the program, while other products are excluded? Will this opaque product restriction affect their future choices and development space
From the above, it can be seen that although Xiaohongshu's overseas plan provides sellers with opportunities to expand into international markets, the lack of transparent rules and clear policies has truly left sellers confused and uneasy. Therefore, current sellers are more eager for Xiaohongshu to provide clearer guidance and signals.
Otherwise, when the platform itself is "crossing the river by feeling the stones", how can merchants dare to all in A seller said so.
However, there are also many sellers who have a trial and error mentality and are willing to become the first wave of "crab eaters". A seller said, "I received the plan to go abroad as soon as possible. Regardless of the cost, I agreed to it all. Let's see what its gameplay is and let it ferment first
In fact, Xiaohongshu's e-commerce expansion has quietly started as early as the influx of TikTok users.
AMZ123 learned that in January 2025, TikTok users in the US flooded into Xiaohongshu due to policy risks, with a peak of 700000 new users added in a single day, pushing it to the top of the US App Store download list. Despite the subsequent suspension of TikTok's ban and a 70% decline in daily active users (DAUs) compared to its peak, as of February 3rd, the US region still maintained millions of daily active users, and some users have formed browsing habits and even participated in Chinese post interactions.
As a result, the demand for reverse online shopping on Xiaohongshu has gradually become apparent, whether it is filled with various tutorials on "reverse online shopping" on Xiaohongshu or American users discovering low-priced products on domestic platforms through Xiaohongshu and combining them with consolidation services to complete cross-border shopping. This phenomenon indicates that overseas users have developed interest in Xiaohongshu's "Chinese style grass planting" model and gradually established stickiness. At the same time, the platform's shopping chain is also gradually demonstrating its e-commerce potential.
In this situation, Xiaohongshu seized the opportunity and gradually accelerated its global layout of e-commerce ecology.
On February 10th, Xiaohongshu launched a recruitment plan for overseas MCN institutions, requiring institutions to have experience in cooperating with platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, and promising to introduce at least 50 overseas celebrities every month. Behind this move, it is obvious that Little Red Book should make up for its localization weakness. By introducing local creators, it can reduce cultural barriers while building a two-way content pool: it can not only meet the needs of overseas users, but also provide cross-border marketing contacts for domestic businesses, forming a linkage model of "Chinese product supply chain+overseas market demand".
In addition, Little Red Book also rented a 7000 square foot office area in Times Square in Causeway Bay at a monthly rate of 280000 Hong Kong dollars, adjacent to Alibaba, ByteDance and other large factories. The layout intention of this strategy is also obvious, avoiding regulatory risks. Relying on Hong Kong's mature financial legal system, Xiaohongshu is able to optimize cross-border data flow and payment frameworks, and respond promptly to the uncertainty of European and American policies.
It is worth mentioning that before and after the Spring Festival, the recruitment positions posted by Xiaohongshu showed that its cross-border business had become the core of the company's recruitment. Xiaohongshu will focus on recruiting Cross border Business Management Trainees (MT) as key positions, while simultaneously opening up positions such as Global Business Expansion and Cross border Logistics Product Managers to further strengthen localization operations and contract fulfillment capabilities.
The release of this series of news seems to indicate that Xiaohongshu has made up its mind to go global in e-commerce. With the launch of the "E-commerce Going Global Navigation Plan", it may become the true starting point of its globalization journey.
