Header image source: Alibaba Group.
During this year’s 618 shopping festival, Taobao Shangou (flash sales) and Ele.me together recorded over 60 million orders. Nearly 40 million came from Taobao Shangou, while Ele.me contributed more than 20 million.
That momentum hasn’t let up. Less than a month later, the numbers climbed again. On May 26, Taobao announced that daily orders through its Shangou service, together with Ele.me, had surpassed 40 million. Non-beverage orders made up 75% of the volume.
Since its launch on May 2, Taobao Shangou has seen a swift rise in orders. According to 36Kr, internal projections initially expected it would take more than ten days to hit ten million orders. Instead, that milestone was reached in six. The jump from ten million to 20 million happened even faster.
Looking ahead, Taobao insiders told 36Kr that total orders across Taobao Shangou and Ele.me are expected to reach around 80 million by August 30.
That date also concludes Alibaba’s summer campaign, which runs from April 30 to August 30, the first phase of its quick commerce strategy. During this period, Taobao Shangou’s performance is being measured by total orders, daily active users (DAU), and purchase frequency. So far, the initiative appears to be gaining traction. Since Alibaba began subsidizing the service, Taobao’s DAU has increased significantly, and users are buying more often.
The main Taobao app is also seeing higher open rates. Where engagement was once tracked weekly or monthly, it’s now measured daily, sometimes even by individual meal sessions, similar to how food delivery platforms monitor activity. Ele.me, meanwhile, continues to focus on profitability. However, since becoming part of Alibaba’s e-commerce division, it may soon be evaluated by metrics such as gross merchandise value (GMV) or total orders.
Several Alibaba staffers told 36Kr that quick commerce is now the company’s top priority in e-commerce. That focus is reflected in recent moves. In late April, Alibaba’s e-commerce unit, Taotian, gave Taobao a top-tier app portal slot, allocated billions of RMB in subsidies, and began integrating Ele.me into its broader retail ecosystem. In early June, it also purchased promotional slots on Alipay to drive traffic to Taobao Shangou. More high-level placements may be on the way.
To coordinate these efforts, Alibaba Group CEO Eddie Wu announced, three days after the 618 campaign ended, that Ele.me and Fliggy would merge into the newly restructured e-commerce division, now reporting directly to group CEO Jiang Fan. Both Ele.me and Fliggy will retain their corporate management teams, but their decisions will align with broader group objectives and unified operations.
Back in May, Wu had already underscored this shift internally, stating Alibaba’s intent to pursue a saturation strategy focused on a few core initiatives, with multiple business units working together and leveraging their strengths. Jiang echoed this during the Q1 2025 earnings call. He described flash sales as a repeatable use case for Taobao, one that boosts user activity and scale while allowing deeper integration between Taobao and local commerce. The goal for the coming months, Jiang said, is to invest aggressively and convert more of Taobao’s existing user base into quick commerce customers. This, he noted, could reshape Taobao’s business model over time.
Jiang also cited estimates suggesting that China’s quick commerce market currently serves around 500–600 million people but could eventually grow to one billion.
Once the summer campaign ends, Taotian is expected to assess its performance and plan the next stage of its expansion.
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This article was written by Peng Qian for 36Kr.