When you think of China’s Double 11 (Singles’ Day) shopping frenzy, you probably picture frantic add-to-carts of discounted skincare, electronics, and endless packs of paper towels (the classic, “well, it’s cheaper, so might as well stock up” opp). But this year, the script has flipped. The fastest-selling items aren’t physical goods at all—they’re AI tokens.
In a recent Taobao Live stream by mega-influencer Li Jiaqi (the “Lipstick King”), a new product broke the internet: a 0.01 RMB monthly AI membership card for Qianwen. Within just 30 minutes, nearly 100,000 memberships were snatched up, unlocking a staggering 2 trillion AI tokens for eager buyers.
For the first time ever, Tmall introduced AI Tokens as an independent category for Double 11, featuring heavyweights like Zhipu, MiniMax, and Alibaba‘s own Qianwen. The results? First-day sales for the Token category skyrocketed by 450% compared to previous baselines.
For Gen Z and young professionals, this marks a massive cultural shift. Instead of just buying AI-equipped laptops or smartphones, China’s youth are purchasing pure, unfiltered brainpower. Whether it’s for generating code, whipping up a last-minute PowerPoint presentation, or organizing university study notes, buying AI tokens has become as routine—and essential—as topping up mobile data.
Major AI developers are opening official flagship stores on Tmall just like fashion brands, making AI accessible to the masses through subscription cards, top-ups, and student-friendly pricing tiers. This Double 11 proves that the future is leaning more towards subscribing to the ultimate digital sidekick. That being said, what happens when you run out of paper towels?
