JD.com charged its PLUS members more — the loyalty program that penalised loyalty

In May 2025, JD.com was accused of 'big data price discrimination' (大数据杀熟) after multiple PLUS members reported being shown higher prices than non-members for the same products. One consumer found that a mobile phone was priced ¥247 higher when logged into a PLUS member account — despite paying an annual membership fee for 'exclusive benefits.' Other complaints included PLUS members being excluded from promotions available to non-members and long-term members being charged ¥198 for renewal while newer members received offers of ¥99–128.

The allegations struck at the core promise of JD's PLUS programme: that members pay for better treatment. Instead, the pricing data suggested the opposite — that JD was using its customer data to identify and charge more to its most loyal users. JD did not issue a direct public response to the specific allegations. The incident became part of a broader Chinese consumer backlash against platform price discrimination, following similar cases involving Meituan and Ctrip.

jd.com charged its most loyal customers more, using data to identify them, which broke the trust that the paid membership model depends on.

JD built a paid loyalty programme on the promise of exclusive benefits — then was caught charging those members more, which is the opposite of loyalty

Using customer data to identify and extract more from repeat buyers destroys the trust that the membership model depends on

A loyalty programme that charges loyal customers more is not a bug — it is a broken business model that will be called out the moment a customer compares screens