The latest half-year financial report from Zibuyu, one of China's premier cross-border apparel giants, offers a revealing look at the current state of global ecommerce. Two figures stand out: Amazon generated 2.353 billion RMB in revenue, while TikTok brought in 289 million RMB. While TikTok represents a high-growth engine with a staggering 662.1% year-over-year increase, Amazon remains firmly in the driver's seat, growing 29.6% and anchoring the company's business model.

In the first half of 2026, Zibuyu achieved total revenue of 2.827 billion RMB, representing a 44.2% year-over-year increase. Net profit attributable to shareholders reached 138 million RMB, up 30% YoY. Third-party marketplaces contributed 2.722 billion RMB, accounting for over 96% of total revenue.

The Channel Breakdown: Why Amazon Remains Irreplaceable

A closer look at Zibuyu's revenue distribution across platforms reveals a clear hierarchy:

  • Amazon: 2.353 billion RMB (approx. 83.2% of total revenue)
  • TikTok: 289 million RMB (approx. 10.2% of total revenue)
  • Self-operated DTC Websites: 45.59 million RMB
  • Temu: 17.33 million RMB

This distribution reflects the reality for many established cross-border sellers. Despite industry talk of omnichannel diversification, Amazon remains the primary pipeline. Why do major brands remain so dependent on Amazon? Because a mature channel offers far more than just traffic. Over years of operating on Amazon, Zibuyu has built its entire organizational structure—product selection, advertising, inventory management, review acquisition, FBA fulfillment, and account operations—around this ecosystem. As long as the channel remains stable and profitable, there is little incentive to abandon it. In fact, Zibuyu's Amazon revenue grew by 29.6% in the first half of the year.

For major sellers, "reducing Amazon dependency" does not mean scaling back a multi-billion RMB business. Instead, it means accelerating growth on alternative channels to mitigate risk, allowing Amazon's absolute revenue to grow even as its overall percentage share decreases.

Is TikTok Shop Actually Profitable?

For Zibuyu, the answer is yes. According to the financial report, the company's TikTok business has officially transitioned from an investment phase into a stage of scaled profitability. However, generating 289 million RMB on TikTok requires far more than simply posting viral short videos.

Zibuyu built its TikTok team from the ground up. In the first half of the year, the team produced over 50,000 in-house videos. Their sales strategy relies on a mix of live hosts, product cards, and self-produced content. In the second quarter, Zibuyu launched an in-house AIGC (Artificial Intelligence Generated Content) video factory, churning out nearly 280 videos per day to drive conversions through high-volume content production.

TikTok Shop's ecosystem demands intensive operations. Beyond self-produced videos and livestreams, sellers must leverage affiliate marketing, paying creator commissions and flat collaboration fees ranging from $20 to $10,000, alongside platform transaction fees. While organic traffic may seem free, scaling a business on TikTok requires significant investment across creators, product samples, video production, paid ads, and livestreaming operations.

The Evolution of TikTok Shop US

Why does TikTok still represent a relatively small share of Zibuyu's total revenue? The primary reason is the baseline. TikTok Shop US reached an estimated GMV of $11.8 billion in the first half of 2026, a rapid 103% year-over-year increase. However, it remains a young channel. Data from Momentum Works indicates that TikTok Shop US already hosts approximately 1.35 million shops and 20 million creators, meaning competition is intensifying rapidly.

Furthermore, US consumer behavior on the platform is shifting. In the first half of the year, 51.4% of TikTok Shop US GMV was generated directly through the "Shop" tab (product cards), while videos accounted for 40.4%, and livestreams fell to just 8.2%. TikTok is gradually evolving from an impulse-buy video platform into a traditional search-and-shelf ecommerce marketplace.

For established players like Zibuyu, this shift is highly advantageous. With robust supply chains, deep inventory, and established brand equity, they only need to replicate their operational playbook on a new traffic engine. However, this replication takes time. Currently, major sellers are in a transitional phase: Amazon secures the bottom-line profits, while TikTok drives high-growth valuation metrics.

Efficiency Over Long Hours: The 4.5-Day Workweek

Interestingly, Zibuyu made headlines last year for implementing a 4.5-day workweek. Despite the reduced working hours, the company's H1 report shows that per-capita efficiency increased by 35%. Additionally, the revenue contribution of Zibuyu's top ten core brands rose from 54% to 65%.

This performance suggests that in the highly competitive cross-border ecommerce landscape, success is no longer just about working longer hours. Instead, operational efficiency, strategic direction, and supply chain optimization are the true drivers of growth.