When consumers can find a cheaper alternative with a few finger-taps, the hard question for JD is not how to win the next transaction, but why someone should choose the brand again.

JD has answered that question through the fundamentals of retail: Genuine products, dependable delivery, and service that continues after the payment has been made. Those qualities may sound less glamorous than the promotions, livestreams and viral products that increasingly define Chinese e-commerce, but they have given JD a distinctive place in consumers’ minds, particularly in categories such as electronics and home appliances, where the cost of making the wrong choice is higher. They have also made JD No 2 in our inaugural Brand Conviction Index.

The challenge now is whether that reputation for reliability can become something broader, a relationship strong enough to survive constant price comparison and relevant enough to extend well beyond the categories that first made JD trusted.

Building a relationship around confidence

JD’s brand proposition has historically been grounded in reducing uncertainty. When consumers buy a smartphone, computer or large home appliance, price is important, but so are questions that get answered only after the purchase: Is the product authentic? Will it arrive when promised? Will installation be handled properly? And if something goes wrong, will the retailer take responsibility?

By building its business around procurement, fulfilment and after-sales service, JD has made those questions part of the brand experience rather than leaving them entirely to the consumer. The result is a form of trust that is functional rather than aspirational: Consumers may not necessarily talk about JD as a lifestyle brand, but they know what they are likely to get when they buy from it.

There are signs that this functional trust is becoming a deeper relationship. JD surpassed 700 million annual active customers in October 2025, while CEO Sandy Xu has highlighted continued growth in both its user base and shopping frequency. Earlier in 2025, she described user growth as reflecting the “increasing trust and mindshare JD has earned from consumers”, a description that underscores the distinction between reach and loyalty – they are not interchangeable. A consumer who has tried a platform once contributes to its scale; a consumer who returns with increasing frequency suggests that the brand has begun to earn a place in their habitual consideration.

“We are also seeing encouraging signs from new initiatives, and we believe these emerging opportunities will further position us for long-term, high-quality growth,” Xu said.

That shift is important as JD expands the range of situations in which consumers can encounter it. During the 2025 11.11 shopping festival, shoppers increased by 40 per cent, year on year, and orders by nearly 60 per cent, while JD also had strong activity across offline electronics stores, JD Mall, food delivery, travel, and home services. Rather than relying solely on the high-consideration purchases that established its reputation, the company is creating more opportunities for consumers to interact with the brand, allowing experiences in one category to reinforce confidence in another.

The same principle is beginning to shape JD’s role as a partner to international brands. At the 2026 UK-China Brand Excellence Summit, Marcia Mao of JingDong Cross-Border – JD.com’s cross-border import business – observed that “China is a huge market, but that doesn’t mean every customer is your customer.”

The comment was directed at brands entering China, but it also captures something about JD’s own challenge: Sustainable growth is increasingly about understanding which consumers the brand can serve particularly well, rather than simply pursuing the largest possible audience.

The test of that relationship comes when consumers have stronger reasons to compromise. China’s e-commerce market has made price comparison almost effortless, while promotions can create powerful short-term incentives to switch platforms. JD, therefore, has to demonstrate that its value proposition extends beyond the number attached to a product.

JD understands that a cheaper product can win consideration, particularly when household budgets are under pressure; but a lower price does not necessarily eliminate the perceived cost of uncertainty. If authenticity, delivery, installation, and after-sales support are all part of the equation, consumers may judge value by their confidence in the entire purchase rather than by price alone.

From trust to conviction

JD’s longer-term challenge is, therefore, less about defending a particular market position than about making its original promise meaningful in a much wider set of consumer moments. JD Mall brings the brand into physical discovery; cross-border commerce connects international brands with Chinese consumers; while food delivery, travel, and home services create new reasons to interact with the ecosystem. Together, these touchpoints can move JD from being a platform associated with certain high-value purchases towards becoming a more familiar part of everyday consumption.

Consumers rarely recommend a retailer simply because it has a sophisticated supply chain; they recommend it because their own experience gave them reason to trust it for their next purchase.

In a market where another discount is always waiting elsewhere, JD stands out by making trust valuable enough that consumers do not judge every purchase on price alone, and strong enough that choosing JD eventually feels less like a decision and more like a default.