Chinese e-commerce platform operator JD.com on Friday introduced a gifting feature on its mobile app, joining rival Alibaba Group Holding in countering the competitive pressure from social media giant Tencent Holdings , which launched a similar feature last month.

When browsing a selection of eligible merchandise, JD.com app users will see a button labelled "Gifting IT." After clicking it, users follow a few simple steps to pay for an item and have it shipped directly to the recipient.

The addition of this feature comes ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday later this month. It follows Tencent's discreet roll-out of a new function in December, allowing WeChat users to buy and send gifts through the super app.

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That move sparked discussions about WeChat's rising potential as Tencent's latest weapon in China's fiercely competitive e-commerce market.

Alibaba's Taobao marketplace followed suit earlier this month with a revamp of its existing gifting service , enabling users to purchase for others. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.

A Lunar New Year bazaar in Beijing. Photo: AP Photo alt=A Lunar New Year bazaar in Beijing. Photo: AP Photo>

JD.com's new gifting feature highlights the growing competition in China's online shopping sector amid sputtering economic growth and increased government scrutiny over unhealthy price wars . Established players such as Alibaba and JD.com already face intense competition from PDD Holdings' Pinduoduo and ByteDance's Douyin.

While Tencent continues to rely on video gaming and social media as its main revenue pillars, it has also doubled down on e-commerce. In mid-2024, WeChat renamed its e-commerce platform - which lets business operators set up an online store for free - to WeChat Mini Shop.

Tencent said it offered WeChat Mini Shop merchants increased traffic and transaction support, stressing that WeChat's social interaction, content platform, and payment capabilities could help shop owners effectively reach customers and drive sales.

The initiative was part of Tencent's upgraded e-commerce strategy to "create a unified and trustworthy transaction experience" across the WeChat ecosystem, which had 1.38 billion monthly active users, the company said in its third-quarter earnings report.