China's Singles' Day shopping carts have a new addition: AI tokens. Alongside everyday goods and electronics, shoppers can now buy access to AI services.
Two Trillion Tokens in Half an Hour
On November 2, a livestream hosted by top-selling host Li Jiaqi sold around 100,000 Qwen Office membership cards in just 30 minutes — packages representing about two trillion tokens of AI usage allowance. The cards, listed at ¥28, went for just ¥0.01 each in the livestream.
JD.com reported that sales of large-model token packages rose twentyfold during a two-hour livestream that same day, compared with the previous period.
One number worth reading carefully: the "two trillion" figure is the total usage allowance bundled into the cards sold, not tokens already used up. At ¥0.01 a card, the 100,000 cards brought in only about ¥1,000 in total — the headline number reflects the scale of the promotion, not cash sales.
What Are People Buying Them For?
The purchases reflect growing uses of AI, from interactions with smart wearables to assistants that help with everyday office tasks. Buyers are paying for digital services and capabilities rather than a physical product.
Individuals are not the only customers. Small businesses are also purchasing tokens for work ranging from software development and product design to promotion.
Still an Emerging Shopping Habit
People's Daily's November 11 commentary cautions that stocking up on tokens is not yet widespread. It also identifies safety governance and after-sales support as issues that still need attention as AI services reach more consumers.
Source: People's Daily via The Paper
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