Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd is anticipated to post its weakest quarterly earnings increase on record, Thomson Reuters data shows, a slow down analysts say will heat up the conflict with smaller competitor JD.com Inc in a more demanding market.

The rate also lags the 47-51 percent sales increase JD.com projected for the exact same interval, which is also the slowest expansion since the business began releasing records.

Alibaba and JD.com declined to comment, citing the pre-gains quiet interval.

“When the market begins to slow you begin to get actual victor and actual losers,” said Brian Buchwald, chief executive of consumer intelligence business Bomoda. “I believe they should pay attention to their immediate rivalry.”

While both companies figure out the overall value of products sold – known as gross merchandise volume (GMV) – otherwise, JD.com’s GMV grew 82 percent in the nine-months to September while Alibaba’s increased 34 percent, indicating China’s largest e-tailer was losing market share.

Before this month, Alibaba Chief Executive Daniel Zhang said the organization will pivot towards these “first-tier” cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou, after having trumpeted a drive into China’s countryside, in addition to abroad.

In a post on Alibaba’s website page, Zhang also said the business was trying to keep and win over more customers by “improving standing and optimising user experience”.

“They’ve more rapid transport speeds, as well as the quality is more trustworthy,” said Zoe Li, who works at a technology startup in Beijing, referring to JD.com compared to Alibaba.

Last month, the Chinese ecommerce giant prevented being named on a U.S. blacklist for websites hosting the sale of imitation goods, and made a new head of anti counterfeiting.