A Joybuy delivery vehicle passes by the Eiffel Tower in France in 2026.

A food delivery cyclist in Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany, on March 2, 2025.

A DHL delivery vehicle in Oslo, Norway, on June 17, 2025.

An advertisement screen of Joybuy in UK in 2026.

A deliveryman hands in a parcel to a customer.

A deliveryman with his express delivery vehicle.

Online shoppers in Europe have become accustomed to waiting — often up to days — for deliveries that arrive within broad time windows. But that patience is now being tested. Joybuy, the European retail arm of Chinese e-commerce company JD.com, has launched operations in six European countries, offering a promise more familiar to consumers in China than in Europe: same-day delivery as a standard service rather than a premium option.

Debuting in March across the United Kingdom, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, Joybuy isn't just another online marketplace. It is an attempt to export China's logistics-centered retail model, setting itself apart from e-commerce rivals such as Temu, Shein, and Amazon. With more than 60 warehouses and delivery hubs across Europe, consumers in more than 30 major cities can now place orders before 11 am and receive them the same day. Joybuy's initial rollout offers over 100,000 products across electronics, home appliances, beauty, groceries and household essentials. Orders above 29 pounds ($37) or 29 euro ($31) qualify for free delivery.

Industry observers say the launch is notable for operational ambition rather than novelty. Earlier Chinese platforms entering Europe include AliExpress from Alibaba Group, which pioneered cross-border marketplaces connecting European buyers with overseas sellers; Singapore-headquartered Shein, which expanded via rapid design-to-production cycles driven by data analytics; and Temu, which scaled through ultra-low prices and frequent promotions targeting mass-market consumers.

Joybuy's subscription program, JoyPlus, is priced 3.99 pounds or 3.99 euro per month, compared with Amazon Prime at 8.99 pounds per month in the UK and 8.99 euro in Europe, where the US e-commerce giant has long dominated the market and set the benchmark for fulfillment and subscription services.

The newcomer has been betting on its approach, which centers on stocked inventory, integrated logistics and predictable delivery timelines — practices that gave JD.com a strong foothold in China's intensely competitive domestic retail environment. British retail publication The Grocer noted that faster fulfillment could signal "days of sluggish delivery are numbered", while CNBC described the launch as a test of how delivery speed itself is valued in Western markets.

Faster than expected

Early users during its soft launch in the UK give a glimpse of how these operational differences translate into everyday shopping. Amie Brillu-Ogden, a Bath-based lifestyle creator who documents cross-cultural daily life online, first heard about the platform through friends in Europe who had already tried the service. Curious whether it could replicate the efficiency she had experienced while traveling in China, she decided to test it herself.

In a short video she later shared with her followers, Brillu-Ogden described placing an order at 9 am and receiving the delivery the same day — a turnaround she said felt surreal by British standards. "You normally have to plan deliveries days ahead here," she said. "Getting something the same day without paying extra felt incredibly fast."

While browsing, she also noticed an unexpected mix of goods: familiar British household items alongside European brands, Chinese daily necessities and even high-tech products. "I even saw one of those robot dogs from the Spring Festival Gala," she said, referring to a performance on China Central Television during the Chinese New Year that had attracted international attention earlier this year.

Brillu-Ogden also noted significant price differences on Joybuy. A hand cream she regularly bought in France, for example, was listed at roughly half the price she normally paid locally, while other items were priced higher. However, for her, speed remained the defining impression. "The whole delivery reminded me of China," she said in the video.

"It seems the Joy Express service exists only in London for now," she said, describing how her delivery in Bath was handled by a third-party courier who just left the boxes outside without bringing them to her flat. She identified logistics as a key area for improvement. "If we could improve our delivery standards to be closer to China's, I'd be very happy indeed," she said, calling the platform "a real differentiator" that could encourage higher service expectations from the e-commerce sector across the UK.

During a business forum in London in March, Su Wang, vice-president of the JD group, explained the key to Joybuy's fast delivery was its smart supply chain, which the group honed in China over several years.

In the past, the supply chain was packed with many players — suppliers, shippers, retailers — along the whole chain, so the logistics data was scattered and segregated.

"You don't really have the full picture of what is going on, so when something goes wrong, it is really hard to fix," he said. "JD has been focusing on building a data-enabled digital supply chain for the past decade, so that's really where our core focus and core capability lie."

Su said now JD can have real-time data along the whole chain: inventories, orders, deliveries, all in real time. "By having all that information integrated together, we can very quickly find out what is going on, and if things go wrong, how to fix them," said Su. "That dramatically increases efficiency and saves energy along the entire supply chain."

A more nuanced picture emerges from frequent cross-border users familiar with JD's domestic model in China.

Oliver Pearce, the London-based executive director for Europe at iMpact, said Joybuy's early performance in the UK reflects the company's core strength in logistics. "I once ordered just before midnight and received the package early the next morning," he said. "That's significantly faster than most platforms in the UK."

Pearce also recalled ordering replacement plates during the platform's soft launch after an earlier shipment from China arrived damaged. The order arrived in time for a Chinese New Year dinner.

"From a user perspective, that reliability really stands out," he said. "In terms of positioning, it currently feels quite niche and community-led in the UK, with strong traction among Chinese users."

Localization, compliance

But speed alone may not be enough to sustain long-term growth. Joybuy's localization also remains a work in progress. "The core strengths of logistics and reliability are clearly there," said Pearce. "But the product range, user experience, and localization still feel early-stage compared with JD's app in China. The copywriting and overall experience also feel more translated than truly localized for UK users."

Ed Sander, a Dutch analyst focusing on Chinese technology and retail, wrote in his China Digital Retail report that parts of Joybuy platform's European interface appear insufficiently adapted to local markets, with product descriptions, navigation, and promotional language at times feeling directly translated from Chinese rather than natively designed for European consumers.

"In the early 2000s, American companies like eBay attempted to establish a foothold in China, competing with Alibaba. The story of how eBay failed is a classic business case of what happens when you don't properly localize. Established players like JD may now be making the same mistakes their American counterparts did 20 years ago," he wrote.

"JD will have to do a much better job if it wants to become a respected and successful platform," he wrote, adding that stronger localization would be key to moving beyond what he described as an early debug experience.

Compliance is another major issue for Chinese e-commerce platforms landing in Europe. Earlier in February, the European Commission opened a formal investigation against the fast-fashion e-commerce portal Shein for its addictive design, lack of transparency in recommender systems, as well as the sale of illegal products, such as child-like sex dolls.

The China-founded Singapore-based firm told the media that it removed the products immediately, banned the sellers, and stopped the sale of sex dolls "regardless of appearance" across its global site. It also said it worked with local and international authorities on investigations into both the buyers and sellers.

Chinese PDD Holdings' global e-marketplace Temu, which offers huge discounts, also faced product compliance investigations by the commission in 2024, one year after it started operations in Europe.

Su, who also heads the JD group's international legal division, said Joybuy has spent the past year building up its product compliance, as many products manufactured outside the UK and Europe don't comply with local regulatory requirements.

"Beyond product compliance, there's also another critical compliance area — data compliance, including consumers' private data," said Su."Those are the areas we really had a strong focus on, and we made sure that we were fully compliant before we launched Joybuy."

While compliance addresses regulatory concerns, competition in Europe ultimately comes down to value and consumer appeal. Pearce, who specializes in helping Chinese companies go global, said Chinese e-commerce platforms bring clear advantages to Europe, particularly in pricing.

He noted that Joybuy's early adoption in the UK appears concentrated within Chinese communities, where demand for Asian groceries and seasonal goods is strong, and pricing remains competitive compared with local specialty supermarkets.

"At a time when the cost of living remains a major concern, consumers are actively looking for value," he said. "Combined with efficient supply chains and fast logistics, that makes these platforms very competitive."

Shein and Temu have already reset price expectations in the UK and pushed e-commerce toward faster, more impulse-driven buying. But that comes with trade-offs: platforms can feel overwhelming to use, and extremely low prices often raise questions about product quality and consistency.

"With platforms like Temu, it can feel like a gamble what you're actually going to receive," he said, pointing to ongoing concerns over product quality and consistency.

This leaves room in the market for a platform positioned between discount marketplaces and established players. The next challenge, he noted, will be building a local ecosystem and convincing UK and European brands to sell there.

"Many European brands are already deeply entrenched with platforms like Amazon or investing heavily in their own direct-to-consumer channels," he said. "Joybuy still needs to continue building its reputation and positioning in the market to bring more brands on board."

Despite their relatively recent entry into Europe, Chinese e-commerce platforms have already begun raising expectations for more convenient online shopping.

Chen Ying, a Chinese postgraduate in London who has placed multiple orders — snacks, tissues, gadgets — on Joybuy since its soft launch, said that for people like her living without easy access to a car, convenience matters as much as price.

"You don't have to carry heavy bags across the city anymore — everything just arrives at your doorstep," she said. "I hope in the future more local people here can enjoy services similar to what we have in China."

Contact the writers at chenyuehua@chinadaily.com.cn