What is Tmall and how to get started

Tmall.com, also known as 天猫, is China's leading business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce platform, operated by Alibaba Group but independently from Taobao.

By the 21YunBox Compliance Team·Reviewed 2026-10-07·Verified against primary sources

What does a foreign brand need to open a store on China's domestic Tmall?

Not by signing up as an overseas company. A domestic Tmall store is opened by a China-registered merchant — a mainland company with a Chinese business license, brand and trademark rights recognized in China, category qualifications and a refundable store deposit. A purely offshore brand cannot open one directly; its lawful routes are to set up a China entity or to sell cross-border through Tmall Global.

Tmall.com is onshore business-to-consumer retail, so the platform verifies your company, brand and product documents against a mainland legal entity, and admits the store under a specific business category and store type — brand-owned flagship, authorized exclusive, specialized, or marketplace-flagship. The brand rights it checks are read against China's own trademark system, which is the practical reason Alibaba built Tmall Global as the cross-border channel for companies “registered outside of mainland China.” Separately, the Chinese customer data your store handles is governed by PIPL the moment any of it leaves the mainland. The facts below are the platform's own qualification rules and the Chinese regulations each one triggers.

This is a risk map, not a yes/no verdict — whether to incorporate in China or go cross-border turns on your brand rights, your categories and where your customer data flows. Our China team can map your path with you →

What a foreign brand must clear to open a domestic Tmall store

Fact	Primary source
A domestic Tmall store is for a China-registered merchant, not an offshore brand signing up. Selling on Tmall.com is onshore retail, and the Dezan Shira & Associates / China Briefing analysis notes that in China “companies seeking to engage in the online retail industry are required to first set up a company and a physical store.” In practice a domestic Tmall storefront is opened by a mainland-incorporated company holding a Chinese business license, and the brand, product and company documents the platform verifies are filed against that entity. A purely offshore brand cannot open a domestic store directly — it either incorporates in China or uses the cross-border channel instead.	Dezan Shira & Associates — China Briefing, “Selling to China Without a Physical Presence: How to Open an Online Shop on Tmall Global” (first published 2015), retrieved 2026-10-07
Beyond incorporation, the storefront is gated on brand and trademark rights — not just an account. Tmall's brand-store formats turn on who owns the brand: a brand owner must “provide the trademark registration certificate for their products,” while an authorized seller must “provide the letter of authorization for selling the products.” For a store selling into the domestic market the relevant mark is one registered in mainland China — the ® registered or ™ pending trademarks the platform recognizes — and a brand holding only a home-country registration is the case Tmall Global was built for. Treat the exact document set and trademark jurisdiction as something to confirm with the platform and counsel, since these requirements have shifted over time.	Dezan Shira & Associates — China Briefing, Tmall brand-qualification rules (first published 2015), retrieved 2026-10-07
Category qualifications and a refundable merchant deposit are part of the gate, not add-ons. A domestic store is admitted under a specific business category, and Tmall's own seller cost standard ties requirements and fees to that category alongside a security deposit held against the store. The store type you qualify for — brand-owned flagship, authorized exclusive, specialized, or marketplace-flagship — is settled in this qualification review rather than at signup, and it follows from your brand rights and the category you are cleared to sell in.	Tmall seller cost standard (pages.tmall.com); Dezan Shira & Associates — China Briefing comparison of China e-commerce platforms for foreign enterprises, retrieved 2026-10-07
The lawful offshore routes are a China entity or Tmall Global. Because a domestic store assumes a mainland merchant, Alibaba runs a separate cross-border channel: Tmall Global “allows international brands and retailers to sell directly to Chinese consumers without having a physical presence in China,” and “Companies registered outside of mainland China are eligible to participate on Tmall Global.” So an offshore brand's two compliant paths are to incorporate in mainland China and open a domestic store, or to sell cross-border through Tmall Global on its overseas entity — each with a different tax, logistics and data posture to work through.	Dezan Shira & Associates — China Briefing, “Selling to China Without a Physical Presence … Tmall Global” (first published 2015), retrieved 2026-10-07
Your customers' personal data is governed by PIPL — a risk to map, not a formality. Running a Tmall storefront means handling Chinese shoppers' names, delivery addresses, contact and order details. If any of that personal information is moved outside mainland China — to an offshore entity, ERP or analytics stack — that is a cross-border transfer under PIPL, requiring notice, separate consent and a lawful transfer mechanism (Articles 38–43); a critical-information-infrastructure operator or large-volume handler must also store it in China (PIPL Article 40; Cybersecurity Law Article 39 (formerly Article 37), renumbered from the 2016 Article 37 by the amended law in force 2026-01-01). Treat this as exposure to confirm with counsel, not a settled answer.	Personal Information Protection Law (effective 2021-11-01), Articles 38–43 and 40; Cybersecurity Law Article 39 (formerly Article 37) (amended law in force 2026-01-01), cac.gov.cn, retrieved 2026-10-19

Sources verified by the 21YunBox compliance team on 2026-10-07.

About Tmall

Tmall.com, also known as 天猫, is China’s leading business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce platform, operated by Alibaba Group but independently from Taobao.

Taobao first introduced Tmall in 2008 as a dedicated B2C platform within its consumer e-commerce website. The critical difference between Tmall and Taobao is that Tmall is a B2C platform, but Taobao is C2C. Tmall was the third most visited website globally in 2021.

Currently, only China-registered brands can open stores on Tmall. In 2014, Alibaba launched Tmall’s global version, “Tmall Global”, as a cross-border marketplace for foreign brands and merchants to sell directly to Chinese consumers, which does not require merchants to have a legal entity in China. Most major foreign brands now have flagship stores on Tmall Global, ranging from old brands like Costco to new brands like Lululemon.

How To Get Started On Tmall

Sell on Tmall

Currently, only China-registered brands can open stores on Tmall. To get started as a seller, follow the steps below:

Step 1. Create a Tmall account on Tmall.com, and then submit business information to Tmall for verification, including brand description and history, product description, etc.

Step 2. Wait for approval from Tmall, which usually takes 7 working days.

Step 3. Once approved, complete your store’s information and pay a security deposit and Tmall’s annual fee.

Step 4. List your products and launch your store.

Cost To Sell On Tmall

The fees for selling on Tmall include security deposit, annual software fees, and commission and are slightly different for each store type.

There are 4 types of stores on Tmall:

Flagship stores(旗舰店)

A flagship store refers to a store opened by its brand or a brand directly provided by the trademark owner with exclusive authorization to settle in Tmall Global.

Exclusive stores(专卖店)

Exclusive store refers to a store registered with Tmall with a brand that a trademark owner has authorized.

Specialized store (专营店)

A specialized store refers to a store that operates two or more brands under a single Tmall main business category.

Flagship store (卖场型旗舰店)

A flagship store (marketplace) is a flagship store that operates on various brands using a service type trademark.

Different Store Types Supported On Tmall

For flagship and specialty stores, the security deposit is 100,000 yuan if you have a TM trademark or 50,000 yuan if you have an R trademark. For franchise stores, the security deposit is 150,000 yuan with the TM trademark and 100,000 yuan with the R trademark.

The annual fee is also different for the different product categories of the merchant. Generally, there are two tiers, 30,000 yuan per year and 60,000 yuan per year. Commission (software fees) is paid following a certain percentage of your sales and differs from different product categories. You can see the details on Tmall’s merchant’s page.

Do not have a Chinese entity, Chinese phone number or Chinese ID? We can help!

If you do not have a Chinese entity, Chinese ID, or Chinese phone number, which is essential to get onboard with Tmall, 21YunBox is here to help.

We can provide the necessary supporting documents to use Tmall and walk you through the process. Meanwhile, we will also bring your company, product, and service into full compliance with Chinese law.