On May 29, JD.com announced an upgraded strategic partnership with Xiaohongshu, launching the “Red-JD Plan.” Starting from June 5th 2025, except for a few special categories, all brands and merchants on JD.com will be able to use Xiaohongshu’s “Direct to App Access” feature.
On May 7th, Red had already announced a similar integration with Tmall on May 7th.
In practice: ads placed on Xiaohongshu can now include direct shopping links to JD.com and Tmall store, allowing users to click and jump straight to JD and Tmall, creating a seamless experience from content discovery to purchase.
Direct-purchase Ads has officially launched in May on RedNote
🧑🤝🧑 Industries Open During Beta Testing (Direct to Tmall)
✅ Direct Use Allowed
- Beauty
- Mother & Baby (Note: Stage 2 infant formula is prohibited)
- Personal Care
- Sports & Outdoor
- Home Cleaning
- Nutritional Supplements
- Domestic Health Foods
📝 White List Application Required
- Health Check/Testing (Note: Testing services are prohibited)
- Medical Devices
- Lenses / Lens Care Solution
- Contraceptive Products
- Imported Health Foods
Direct shopping link lead to significant performance increases: cost per store visit dropped 38% vs. industry, add-to-cart cost was 63% lower, and ad-driven visits cost 46% less than the platform average.
However, content-side signals suggest a tradeoff: posts with product links saw 23% lower engagement, and 7-day revisit rates fell 8.5%, indicating reduced user stickiness. As commercial content reached 34% of feeds, bounce rates increased 41%, and searches for “block ads” surged 287%, reflecting rising user resistance.
While monetization efficiency improved, these trends highlight the challenge of maintaining a healthy content ecosystem while increasing sales.