JD.com

JD is based in Beijing. Its retail business stocks goods in JD warehouses and employs its own delivery network, which is why brands use it when they want controlled handling of authentic product and fast last-mile service.

Third-party sellers also list on JD, and they compete for traffic with JD's own first-party inventory in the same search results. That is the self-preferencing question: the platform both sells and hosts rivals, and it writes the ranking and fee rules.

JD Logistics has opened delivery and warehousing to outside merchants, so the logistics arm is both an internal advantage and a service sold to others. PDD competes on price, Alibaba's Taobao and Tmall on marketplace breadth, and Douyin on shoppable video.

First-party inventory and JD Logistics give JD direct control of price, stock, and delivery time.

Marketplace sellers depend on JD search ranking and on fee rules they do not set.

Brands that require authenticity and cold chain or high-value handling have fewer networks with JD's coverage.

Shoppers who buy from JD are choosing a delivery promise as much as a product listing.

A seller who relies on JD traffic can lose orders if ranking favors JD's own stock of the same item.