Kuaishou Ecommerce

Nine dimensions merchants should review before joining:

Merchant snapshot

Suited to down-market merchants of agricultural products/white-label/daily goods: trust e-commerce plus Kuai Distribution (快分销) give low-cost scaling, finances are transparent, but growth is stalling and it depends on top livestreamers.

Entry requirements

Opening a Kuaishou store requires an enterprise/individual business license and category qualifications; deposits are paid by category and the process is online. Some categories allow personal stores (per official rules). Cross-border channels for overseas merchants are limited. Under the Kuai Distribution (快分销, distribution alliance) model, merchants can set promotion commissions to connect with creator distribution — the main path to scaling. Language is primarily Chinese.

Fee structure

The technical service fee is charged by category (about 1% for most categories, per the official Kuaishou Store Settlement Rules) [Chinaz]. Under Kuai Distribution, merchants bear the promoter commission split plus platform service fee (the settlement rules specify how promoter commissions are calculated). Ads run on Cili Jinniu (磁力金牛, Magnetic Engine's 磁力引擎 paid-campaign platform). The platform once cancelled a limited-time promotion-service-fee waiver [Yibang Power]. Exact rates are per the official settlement rules.

Getting traffic

Livestream + short-video content distribution with high stickiness from the 'laotie economy / trust e-commerce' (老铁经济/信任电商). The Kuai Distribution creator network drives distribution-led scaling; Cili Jinniu handles paid campaigns. Agricultural and industrial-cluster livestreaming gets platform support. Down-market users have strong repeat-purchase rates. Among the top five, it is the only one to officially disclose e-commerce GMV (FY2025 ~RMB 1.6 trillion).

Fulfilment & logistics

Merchant self-fulfillment dominates (the platform checks shipping timeliness and tracking). Agricultural products ship directly from origin. There is no self-built warehousing/delivery; third-party options such as Cainiao can be used. Fulfillment costs fall on merchants.

Payments & settlement

WeChat Pay / Alipay / Kuaishou Pay, settled in RMB. Payments settle per the billing cycle after order confirmation (per platform rules).

Compliance

A business license and category qualifications are required. Food/agricultural products need relevant operating licenses. Livestream commerce regulation is tightening — the platform has already split off its e-commerce business and cracked down on scripted livestream selling to restore trust. Domestic e-commerce pays taxes.

Key risks

(1) User and GMV growth has stalled — in 2025 it was the only one of the five major content platforms with falling DAU; e-commerce GMV has left high growth behind and ad growth is slowing; (2) dependence on top livestreamers (still can't do 618 without Xinba), and livestreamer controversies (reports of 'Xinba quitting' / investigations) shake the 'trust e-commerce' foundation; (3) squeezed from both sides in the down-market by Pinduoduo and Douyin; (4) after results, the stock fell over 13% in a single day and multiple institutions cut price targets.

Best-fit sellers

Best suited to down-market merchants of agricultural products, white-label daily goods and factory-direct supply, especially those with Kuaishou creator resources or willing to run Kuai Distribution. Not suited to high-ticket brands or merchants targeting first-tier-city demographics (mismatch in user base and content tone).

Sources

research/sections/cn_platforms.md §4.2.5; research/China_ecommerce_top5_research.md §2#5; https://www.chinaz.com/2022/0913/1445422.shtml; https://www.yilantop.com/news/20658; https://zhengguannews.cn/zghnews/377712.html; https://m.jiemian.com/article/14746330.html; https://www.donews.com/article/detail/7430/90709.html

Kuaishou Ecommerce appears in the Top-5 lists of 1 regions: China.

• China（#5）：Livestream ecommerce + lower-tier markets ('trust ecommerce'); agricultural products / white-label; Kuaishou distribution system

Every figure is taken from that region’s Top-5 report and source audit. No cross-region conversion or new estimates: