Science & Tech · AI · 5 hrs ago
Chinese e-commerce platforms begin selling AI tokens
Chinese e-commerce platforms have started selling AI tokens as a separate product category during the Singles’ Day shopping season.
Tokens are the units AI models use to process prompts and generate content, and customers can buy usage top-ups or fixed monthly and yearly plans.
Tmall and JD.com bring several AI providers together so buyers can compare and purchase packages through familiar online shopping services.
The change makes paid AI access easier for individuals and small businesses, including students, researchers and people who use AI for demanding tasks such as coding.
Sales rose sharply during the promotion, with Tmall’s token-category sales on opening day up 450% from the previous day, while JD.com said sales of token packages rose 20-fold in two hours during a livestream.
Heavy-use tasks are driving much of the demand, while many casual users can still rely on free AI services.
Providers and platforms still need clearer pricing and measurement, since token use and billing rules differ across models; paid and free access are expected to continue side by side.
Chinese e-commerce platforms are selling AI token packages as a standalone product category, bringing purchases once aimed mainly at developers closer to ordinary consumers.
Tmall and JD offer subscriptions and pay-as-you-go top-ups from multiple AI model providers.
Tmall opened its Token top-up center on September 3 and had connected providers including DeepSeek, Alibaba Cloud, Zhipu and Kimi.
During the Singles’ Day shopping period, discounts and promotions helped drive sales, with Taobao’s token-category transaction value rising 450% on the first day of sales compared with the previous day.
Analysts say the new shopping channel may broaden access, but differences in billing and token measurement remain challenges.
- Who
- Chinese e-commerce platforms, including Tmall and JD, and AI model providers such as DeepSeek, Alibaba Cloud, Zhipu and MiniMax.
- What
- They are offering AI tokens through top-ups and subscription packages as a standalone product category.
- When
- The sales push is taking place around this year’s Singles’ Day shopping period. Tmall’s Token top-up center launched on September 3.
- Where
- On Chinese e-commerce platforms, including Tmall and JD.
- Why
- Platforms and model providers are seeking to make token purchases more convenient and reach consumers beyond professional developers.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
China’s average daily token calls stood at 100 billion, according to the National Data Administration.
Tmall launched its Token top-up center.
China’s average daily token calls exceeded 140 trillion, according to the National Data Administration.
Domestic average daily token consumption was about 500 trillion, a report by research organizations including the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology said.
A JD livestream gave away more than 1 billion tokens in its first hour; token-package sales rose 20-fold within two hours.
A China News Service reporter found discounted monthly package prices on an e-commerce platform.
- Tmall Token top-up center
- Launched September 3
- Providers connected to Tmall
- DeepSeek, Alibaba Cloud, Zhipu and Kimi
- Taobao token-category sales
- Transaction value rose 450% on the first day of Singles’ Day sales compared with the previous day
- JD livestream giveaway
- More than 1 billion tokens in the first hour
- Domestic daily token consumption
- About 500 trillion in June this year
1 source
What people are saying
Token products appearing on e-commerce platforms show that consumer demand is also beginning to emerge.
This process consumes a lot of tokens, but work that might have taken a month can now be done in a few days, greatly improving efficiency.
Token is not only a value anchor in the intelligent era, but also a settlement unit connecting technology supply and commercial demand, making business models quantifiable.