Total mobile app usage time in China rose 10.1% YoY in May, but e-commerce, travel, and information-entry apps were under pressure, while AI apps continued to capture user time

Overview

This report is Nomura's May 2026 app-tracking monthly report on China's internet and new media sector, with QuestMobile app traffic and user-time data as the core basis. Overall, China's mobile internet market continued to post moderate growth, with monthly active smartphone users up 1.2% year over year to 1.28 billion and total monthly usage time up 10.1% year over year. However, the growth mix was clearly divergent: ByteDance apps, AI tools, short dramas, and some digital freight apps continued to gain traffic, while e-commerce, online travel, search, long-form video, livestreaming, maps, and some social apps saw declines in user engagement or DAU.

Core views

The report's core views are: first, the 618 promotion only brought a month-over-month recovery for e-commerce apps and did not change the weak year-over-year trend, meaning e-commerce revenue may remain under pressure in the June quarter. Second, AI chatbots are changing users' information-acquisition paths, creating structural pressure on information gateways such as search and Xiaohongshu. Third, ByteDance's share of usage time among the Top-50 apps continued to expand, showing stronger user-time capture by its content and AI ecosystem. Fourth, online travel app usage time continued to weaken, and the report believes rising aviation fuel surcharges may be one drag factor. Fifth, short dramas, Douyin, Doubao, Feishu, digital freight, and Boss Zhipin continued to show solid growth in their respective niches.

Analysis framework

The report breaks down user scale and engagement by app vertical, focusing on MAU, DAU, MTS, and DTSD while comparing both year-over-year and month-over-month changes. The analytical framework decomposes total usage-time changes into changes in active-user count and per-user usage time to identify whether growth comes from user expansion, deeper usage, or factors such as promotions, seasonality, and base effects.

Methodology notes

• Traffic and engagementMAU/DAU/MTS/DTSD decomposition

  Decompose changes in total usage time using active users and average usage time per user

  The report uses MAU, DAU, total monthly usage time, and daily time spent per user to assess app growth quality, avoiding a focus only on user count while ignoring engagement.

• Industry comparisonVertical app tracking

  Compare leading app performance across verticals such as e-commerce, travel, social, video, AI, office, maps, and recruitment

  Comparing DAU, MTS, and DTSD within the same vertical helps identify share shifts among platforms and commercialization pressure.

• Third-party dataQuestMobile app data

  Use third-party mobile app traffic data to observe user behavior

  The report cites QuestMobile data in many places, which is suitable for judging traffic trends, but revenue, profit, and valuation assessments still need to be combined with company financial reports and management guidance.

Asset mapping & comparison

Structured mapping from thesis to named assets (strengths, weaknesses, peers, risks).

• Alibaba / BABA US

  A covered company connected to multiple app lines, including Taobao, DingTalk, Amap, Fliggy, and Qwen

  Strengths

  Taobao MTS rebounded 17% month over month during the 618 promotion period, Amap DAU grew 2% year over year, and Qwen grew sharply year over year from a low base.

  Weaknesses

  Taobao usage time grew only 7% year over year, while the broader e-commerce industry outside JD remained weak; DingTalk DAU fell 1% year over year, Fliggy MTS fell 15% year over year, and Amap MTS fell 3% year over year.

  Comparison

  Compared with PDD, Taobao relies more on promotional rhythms such as 618; compared with Doubao, Qwen still lags significantly in AI app DAU.

  Risks

  Declining e-commerce CMR, AI competition, and weaker engagement in travel and map apps may weigh on growth expectations.

• JD / JD US

  A covered e-commerce platform, with the report tracking JD app DAU, MTS, and June-quarter revenue outlook

  Strengths

  JD app MTS grew 19% month over month after the launch of the 618 promotion, while casual-user count grew 30% year over year.

  Weaknesses

  MTS fell 10% year over year, DAU fell 3% year over year, and heavy-user count fell 12% year over year; Nomura expects JD retail revenue to decline 7% year over year in the June quarter.

  Comparison

  Compared with Taobao, JD's year-over-year performance was weaker; compared with PDD, JD lacks the stable traffic support created by a year-round low-price strategy.

  Risks

  A high base, normalized user-acquisition spending, loss of heavy users, and weak consumption may continue to drag on revenue.

• PDD / PDD US

  An e-commerce platform rated Neutral in the report, with Pinduoduo app performance tracked

  Strengths

  MTS grew 13% year over year and 3% month over month, DAU grew 8% year over year, and heavy-user count grew 4% year over year.

  Weaknesses

  Changes in usage-time share were relatively limited, and the low-price strategy may bring pressure on margins and the merchant ecosystem.

  Comparison

  The report believes PDD is less dependent on 618 promotions than Taobao and JD because the platform pursues a year-round low-price strategy.

  Risks

  Low-price competition, fluctuations in consumer demand, and platform regulatory risks still warrant attention.

• Tencent / 700 HK

  A covered company whose related apps including WeChat, QQ, Tencent Video, WeCom, and TME were all tracked

  Strengths

  WeChat remained the No. 1 standalone app with a 19.0% share of mobile usage time, WeChat MTS grew 2% year over year, and WeCom DAU grew 9% year over year.

  Weaknesses

  Tencent Video MTS fell 31% year over year, QQ MTS fell 3% year over year, and Tencent's Top-50 usage-time share was 29.8%, below ByteDance's.

  Comparison

  Tencent still has the strongest social gateway, but ByteDance is growing faster in content usage-time share.

  Risks

  Weakness in long-form video, slower growth in social usage time, and competition from short video and AI gateways may affect ecosystem usage time.

• ByteDance / Unlisted

  The report tracks multiple ByteDance apps, including Douyin, Douyin Lite, Doubao, Feishu, Tomato Free Novels, and Soda Music

  Strengths

  ByteDance's usage-time share among Top-50 apps rose to 39.2%; Doubao DAU reached 158 million; Douyin MTS grew 28% year over year; Feishu DAU grew 45% year over year; and several music and reading apps maintained strong growth.

  Weaknesses

  Doubao's average usage time per user fell 3% month over month, and the monetization quality of some growth still needs verification.

  Comparison

  ByteDance's usage-time share has surpassed Tencent's, with its AI and content matrix creating stronger user-time capture.

  Risks

  Competition in AI apps, regulation, content costs, and uncertainty around monetization conversion.

• Baidu / BIDU US

  A covered company, with the report tracking Baidu app, Baidu Maps, YY, and the search/map competitive landscape outside Quark

  Strengths

  Baidu remains one of China's leading search engines and owns app assets in maps and livestreaming.

  Weaknesses

  Baidu app MTS fell 21% year over year, Baidu Maps MTS fell 16% year over year, and YY DAU fell 5% year over year.

  Comparison

  Traditional search gateways are under pressure relative to AI chatbots, and map apps are also weaker than high-growth content and AI apps.

  Risks

  AI replacing search, loss of user time, lower map usage frequency, and pressure on ad monetization.

• Xiaohongshu / Unlisted

  A social and content community, with the report focusing on its first year-over-year decline in MTS

  Strengths

  DAU grew 3% year over year to 122 million, and it secured China's exclusive online streaming rights for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which may expand user reach.

  Weaknesses

  MTS fell 1% year over year and DTSD fell 4% year over year, marking the first year-over-year decline in total usage time since the report began tracking it.

  Comparison

  Compared with AI chatbots, Xiaohongshu's value proposition in information and knowledge discovery is being challenged.

  Risks

  AI diversion, slower growth in the content community, and weaker-than-expected conversion of World Cup rights.

• Trip.com / TCOM US

  A covered online travel company, with the report tracking the two China apps Ctrip and Qunar

  Strengths

  It remains a leading online travel platform, with dual-app coverage through Ctrip and Qunar.

  Weaknesses

  Ctrip and Qunar MTS fell 19% and 14% year over year, respectively, while DAU fell 9% and 13% year over year, respectively.

  Comparison

  Online travel as a whole is weaker than high-growth tracks such as digital freight, AI, and short video.

  Risks

  Rising aviation fuel surcharges, weak travel demand, and declining user activity.

• iQIYI / IQ US

  A long-form video platform rated Neutral in the report, with MTS and DAU tracked

  Strengths

  It still holds a leading position in the long-form video segment.

  Weaknesses

  iQIYI MTS fell 6% year over year, mainly dragged by a 12% year-over-year decline in DAU.

  Comparison

  Long-form video as a whole is weaker than short-drama apps such as Red Fruit Free Short Drama, with user time shifting toward shorter content.

  Risks

  Loss of long-form video users, content cost pressure, and substitution by short dramas.

• Kuaishou / 1024 HK

  A short-video platform rated Neutral in the report, with Kuaishou app performance tracked

  Strengths

  It remains among the Top-20 apps by usage-time share and retains a large user base.

  Weaknesses

  MTS fell 11% year over year, mainly dragged by an 11% year-over-year decline in DTSD.

  Comparison

  Compared with Douyin's 28% year-over-year MTS growth, Kuaishou's performance was clearly weaker.

  Risks

  Short-video competition, declining user time, and slower monetization growth.

• Bilibili / BILI US

  A mid-form video and community platform rated Neutral in the report, with short-video/content app performance tracked

  Strengths

  MTS grew 10% year over year, driven jointly by 4% year-over-year DAU growth and 6% year-over-year DTSD growth.

  Weaknesses

  Growth lagged Douyin, and its usage-time share among the Top-20 was 1.7%, so scale remains limited.

  Comparison

  Its performance is steadier than Kuaishou's, but it still lags Douyin in both traffic scale and growth momentum.

  Risks

  Content costs, slower community growth, and volatility in ad/game monetization.

• Full Truck Alliance / YMM US

  A digital freight platform rated Buy in the report, with YMM Shipper, YMM Driver, and Huochebang apps tracked

  Strengths

  YMM Shipper MTS grew 10% year over year, and YMM Driver MTS grew 27% year over year, with driver-side growth accelerating from April.

  Weaknesses

  Huochebang Shipper MTS fell 2% year over year, and Huochebang Driver DAU fell 14% year over year.

  Comparison

  Digital freight is clearly stronger than travel-related consumer apps such as online travel and maps.

  Risks

  Freight-demand cyclicality, platform subsidies, driver-side activity, and macroeconomic volatility.

Key data

• Monthly active smartphone users in China1.28 billion, up 1.2% year over yearIn May 2026, China's MAS remained stable in recent months.
• Total monthly mobile usage time in Chinaup 10.1% year over yearBroadly in line with the 10.3% year-over-year growth rate in April 2026.
• E-commerce app usage timeTaobao MTS up 7% YoY and 17% MoM; JD MTS down 10% YoY and up 19% MoM; PDD MTS up 13% YoY and 3% MoMThe 618 promotion drove a month-over-month recovery, but the year-over-year trends for Taobao and JD remained weak.
• E-commerce revenue outlookAlibaba CMR is expected to decline 8% YoY in the June quarter, while JD retail revenue is expected to decline 7% YoYNomura believes weakness in the e-commerce market will be reflected in June-quarter sales performance for covered platforms.
• Online travel appsCtrip, Qunar, and Fliggy posted MTS declines of 19%, 14%, and 15% YoY, respectively, in MayMainly dragged by weaker DAU; the report believes higher aviation fuel surcharges may have led to softer demand.
• XiaohongshuMTS down 1% YoY, DAU up 3% YoY to 122 million, DTSD down 4% YoYThis is the first time since the report began tracking in 2020 that Xiaohongshu's total usage time declined year over year.
• AI app DAUDoubao 158 million; DeepSeek about 30.5 million to 31.0 million; Qwen about 27.9 million to 28.0 millionDoubao grew 3.6x year over year and 5% month over month; DeepSeek grew 6% month over month and returned to No. 2 among native AI chatbots.
• Average usage time per AI app userQuark Browser 33.5 minutes, DeepSeek 17.2 minutes, Zhipu Qingyan 11.8 minutes, Kimi 11.6 minutes, Doubao 11.1 minutesQuark Browser leads on DTSD, while apps such as DeepSeek and Kimi have posted relatively fast growth in per-user usage time.
• Usage-time share by internet ecosystemAmong Top-50 apps, ByteDance accounted for 39.2% and Tencent for 29.8%ByteDance's share rose significantly from 32.6% in May 2025 and increased 0.8 percentage points month over month.
• Top-20 app usage-time shareWeChat 19.0%, Douyin 18.7%, Douyin Lite 6.3%WeChat remained No. 1, but the combined usage-time share of Douyin and Douyin Lite was close to and exceeded that of standalone WeChat.
• Long-form video and short dramasTencent Video MTS down 31% YoY; Youku, Mango TV, and iQIYI down 36%, 5%, and 6% YoY, respectively; Red Fruit Free Short Drama MTS up 134% YoYLong-form video was broadly weak, while short-drama apps continued their rapid growth.
• Short videoDouyin MTS up 28% YoY, Bilibili up 10% YoY, Kuaishou down 11% YoYDouyin was driven by DAU growth, while Kuaishou was mainly dragged by a decline in DTSD.
• Search and information gatewaysBaidu app MTS down 21% YoY, mainly dragged by a 21% YoY drop in DAUTogether with weaker Xiaohongshu usage time, this reflects pressure from AI on traditional information-discovery gateways.
• Office applicationsFeishu DAU up 45% YoY, WeCom up 9% YoY, DingTalk down 1% YoY; DingTalk DAU about 80 millionDingTalk still has the largest DAU base, while Feishu is growing the fastest.
• Digital freightYMM Shipper and Huolala Shipper MTS up 10% and 14% YoY, respectively; YMM Driver and Huolala Driver MTS up 27% and 31% YoY, respectivelyGrowth on the driver side accelerated, mainly driven by higher daily time spent per user.
• Online recruitmentBoss Zhipin MTS up 14% YoY, Zhaopin down 10% YoY, 51Job down 6% YoYBoss Zhipin was mainly driven by 12% YoY DAU growth.

Impact & implications

For investors, the report indicates that traffic growth in China's internet sector has not disappeared, but the distribution of traffic and monetization elasticity are being repriced. Weak engagement in e-commerce and online travel may weigh on near-term revenue expectations; information gateways such as search and Xiaohongshu must face AI substitution risk; and strong growth in ByteDance apps, AI tools, short dramas, and digital freight shows that new gateways and new content formats are still expanding their share of user time. Investment judgments should shift from pure user scale to usage-time quality, monetization path, AI substitution risk, and ecosystem share migration.

Risks

• QuestMobile third-party traffic data may differ from company-reported metrics and cannot be directly equated with revenue or profit performance.
• The month-over-month recovery driven by the 618 promotion may be short-lived; if user time falls back after the promotion, e-commerce revenue pressure may persist.
• The speed at which AI chatbots substitute for information gateways such as search and Xiaohongshu remains uncertain and may either accelerate or slow temporarily.
• Weakness in online travel is attributed to rising aviation fuel surcharges, but actual demand may also be affected by seasonality, macro consumption, and ticket-price factors.
• Short dramas and AI apps are growing quickly, but monetization, retention, and regulatory risks are still not fully validated.
• If mature apps such as long-form video, livestreaming, music, and maps continue to see declines in DAU or DTSD, valuation and ad monetization for related platforms may come under pressure.

What to watch

• Changes in DAU, MTS, and heavy-user counts for Taobao, JD, and PDD after the end of 618, as well as June-quarter e-commerce revenue delivery.
• DAU, DTSD, and retention trends for Doubao, DeepSeek, Qwen, Kimi, and Quark Browser, especially whether AI apps continue diverting traffic from search and community content.
• Whether Xiaohongshu can restore DAU growth and average usage time with support from its 2026 FIFA World Cup rights.
• The extent of MTS improvement for online travel apps as fuel surcharges change, the summer peak season arrives, and travel demand recovers.
• Whether the gap in Top-50 app usage-time share between ByteDance and Tencent continues to widen.
• Whether the rapid growth of short-drama apps such as Red Fruit Free Short Drama can continue, and the extent to which they substitute for long-form video platforms.
• Whether DAU and DTSD for digital freight and online recruitment apps continue to outperform the broader consumer internet market.