As the annual “Double 11” shopping festival in China approaches, a significant development has emerged within the leading e-commerce platforms. For the first time, tokens—essential units required for artificial intelligence (AI) functionalities—are being offered as a stand-alone commodity for sale alongside everyday consumer items.
Historically, the process of acquiring tokens involved navigating through the official websites, apps, or developer back ends of various AI companies, functioning purely as a technical billing unit. However, this year, major e-commerce platforms in collaboration with AI model developers have adopted a novel sales approach during the 2026 “Double 11” shopping extravaganza.
According to reports from Chinese media, the introduction of a new independent product category—AI Tokens—has revolutionized online shopping. Prominent AI model companies such as Zhiyun, MiniMax, Alibaba Cloud, and Qianwen have opened their stores within major e-commerce platforms. When users search for “Token” on platforms like Tmall and JD.com, they are directed to a dedicated interface that brings together various top-tier AI model providers. This centralized location allows users to explore a range of services, including membership subscriptions and token recharging, providing a seamless, one-stop shopping experience.
Public data indicate that in the realms of artificial intelligence and computing, a token serves as the smallest unit for processing text and information by AI models. A single token can be a complete word, a Chinese character, a portion of a character, a phrase, or even a punctuation mark. Every interaction with AI—whether asking a question or generating content—utilizes tokens.
Tmall has introduced an AI recharge center, dubbed the “AI Space Station,” aggregating AI offerings from major players like Qianwen AI, Zhiyun, MiniMax, Qianwen Office, and Qoder. Various subscription packages are now centralized on a single page, featuring options for monthly, quarterly, and annual plans.
According to Si Dengyu, General Manager of Tmall’s 3C Digital Division, “Consumers often search the platform to see what token packages are available. We are now using a standardized e-commerce transaction system to place relevant products online, allowing consumers to recharge tokens and purchase memberships with unparalleled convenience.”
JD.com, on the other hand, has launched an AI Software Recharge Pavilion, featuring offerings from JD Cloud, DeepSeek, Zhiyun GLM, Tencent Cloud, and more. Their live-streaming sales sessions have seen a remarkable response, with over 10 billion tokens sold within the first hour, and a 20-fold increase in token package sales volume within just two hours.
The China National Bureau of Statistics reported a staggering increase in daily token utilization, which soared past 140 trillion by March this year—a significant jump from 100 billion at the start of 2024. By August, daily token requests had crossed 500 trillion. This explosive growth demonstrates the burgeoning demand for AI technology and services across the Chinese market.
Pan Hailin, a member of the Information and Communication Economic Expert Committee of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, interprets the introduction of token packages in e-commerce as a clear indicator of shifting client needs. “In today’s competitive landscape of major AI models, companies have adopted a tiered billing strategy that only applies charges to heavy users,” he stated.
In addition to major e-commerce platforms, online influencers have also begun selling tokens. Li Jiaqi, renowned for his remarkable record of selling 15,000 lipsticks in just five minutes, recently teamed up with Qianwen Office CEO Chen Yusen for a live broadcast event. Within half an hour, they succeeded in selling 100,000 personal membership monthly cards for Qianwen Office, accumulating approximately 20 trillion tokens.
Apart from token sales, there have been reports of promotions during “Double 11” where consumers purchasing computers receive complimentary tokens as part of their offer. Consumer Wang Xi (pseudonym) noted that after recently buying a Dell laptop, her package included not only Microsoft-related privileges but an additional token worth 13,000 points, originally priced at 69 RMB.
However, a report from China’s digital content company, Chinese Online, revealed in June that the consumption of AI tokens in mainland China is predominantly driven by short video and film generation, which accounts for 55%. E-commerce marketing follows closely at 24%, while software development utilizes 15%.
Further analysis highlighted that the token consumption in generating AI short films and videos exceeds that of software development by more than threefold, making it the leading domain of token usage. This surge in demand for content creation has swiftly captured public attention, sparking discussions around the notion that “half of the computing power is dedicated to the creation of entertaining dramas” aimed at providing stress relief.
The report emphasized that AI has deeply permeated the entire production chain of micro-drama creation, virtual filming, post-production editing, tag generation, dubbing, and promotional activities. Estimates predict that by 2026, the production capacity for AI dramas and animated content in mainland China will rapidly surpass one million units.
Questions have arisen in media discussions regarding this unprecedented surge in computational resources directed toward a singular content format. Is this a reflection of efficient technological advancement, or is it indicative of a collective overconsumption driven by surplus production? The discourse has led to comparisons that suggest, “America is crafting the future, while China is churning out entertaining dramas.”