When waiting becomes old-fashioned

Su, who also heads the JD group's international legal division, said Joybuy has spent the past year building up its product compliance, as many products manufactured outside the UK and Europe don't comply with local regulatory requirements.

"Beyond product compliance, there's also another critical compliance area — data compliance, including consumers' private data," said Su."Those are the areas we really had a strong focus on, and we made sure that we were fully compliant before we launched Joybuy."

While compliance addresses regulatory concerns, competition in Europe ultimately comes down to value and consumer appeal. Pearce, who specializes in helping Chinese companies go global, said Chinese e-commerce platforms bring clear advantages to Europe, particularly in pricing.

He noted that Joybuy's early adoption in the UK appears concentrated within Chinese communities, where demand for Asian groceries and seasonal goods is strong, and pricing remains competitive compared with local specialty supermarkets.

"At a time when the cost of living remains a major concern, consumers are actively looking for value," he said. "Combined with efficient supply chains and fast logistics, that makes these platforms very competitive."

Shein and Temu have already reset price expectations in the UK and pushed e-commerce toward faster, more impulse-driven buying. But that comes with trade-offs: platforms can feel overwhelming to use, and extremely low prices often raise questions about product quality and consistency.

"With platforms like Temu, it can feel like a gamble what you're actually going to receive," he said, pointing to ongoing concerns over product quality and consistency.