China’s cross-border shopping guide 5haitao.com has acquired the Chinese business of cash-back shopping pioneer Ebates, a subsidiary of Japanese-headquartered internet services company Rakuten.

Advertisers worldwide will be able to reach Chinese consumers more efficiently as a result of the acquisition as 55haitao.com’s mobile apps promote advertisers through influencers on such social-media platforms as WeChat and Weibo.

“Whether travelling internationally or shopping cross-border from home, Chinese consumers show no sign of slowing down,” says 55haiao.com founder/CEO Alan Gu.

“As a competitor, Ebates has always motivated and inspired our team, and now there are more opportunities for collaboration with Ebates and Rakuten,” says Gu. Since its founding in 2011, 55haitao.com has partnered with Rakuten Marketing to promote cross-border shopping by Chinese consumers on US retail websites. Now, 55haitao.com plans to offer the Ebates cash-back offering to Chinese tourists visiting the US for shopping in the same merchants’ brick-and-mortar stores.

“The sale of our Chinese cash-back shopping business to 55haitao frees up resources for us to focus on China in a new way,” says Ebates CEO Amit Patel.