Chinese e-commerce giants kickstarted the 618 shopping festival on Tuesday with billions of yuan worth of coupons on hand to produce a compound effect on top of the national drive to promote sales of consumer goods.
A number of goods originally destined for the US market that were stranded by the high tariffs imposed by the US will come into the spotlight at the mid-year shopping festival, the Global Times learned.
This year's 618 shopping bonanza will come at a critical period as the nation is vigorously advancing its strategy to expand domestic demand. Against the backdrop of shoring up consumption and making it a pivotal driver for economic growth, this year's 618 sales event could also serve as a vital window on the resilience and vast potential of China's consumption market, according to an analyst.
This year's 618 sales event is also starting earlier, allowing the promotion period to straddle two significant consumer festivals - May 20 and June 18.
E-commerce giant Tmall, for example, has simplified the discount process by allowing consumers to directly benefit as they make a purchase, with each consumer being able to collect coupons valued at a maximum of 12,927 yuan ($1,794.59), the Xinhua News Agency reported on Tuesday.
E-commerce platform JD.com announced that its prelude event will start on Tuesday evening and run through May 28, while its official 618 event will start on May 31, with a focus on home appliances and trade-ins, according to a statement the company sent to the Global Times on Tuesday.
Amid foreign trade turbulence due to US tariffs, many export goods will also appear in the shopping festival for the first time.
In a statement sent to the Global Times, JD.com said that its initiative to support the sales of export-to-domestic goods would continue into the 618 shopping spree to "provide a vital opportunity for companies amid a transition," and that since the plan was announced in April, more than 10,000 enterprises had entered substantial purchase talks with JD.
In April, JD.com announced that it would purchase 200 billion yuan worth of export-to-domestic goods over the next year to help foreign trade firms.
Douyin Supermarket announced that it would offer 10 billion yuan worth of coupons to promote sales and continue to push forward its plan to support the sales of export-to-domestic goods. Domestic brands participating in its program achieved sales of 360 million yuan in just 17 days after it announced its plan in mid-April, the Securities Times reported on Tuesday.
Liu Dingding, a veteran observer of the e-commerce industry, told the Global Times on Tuesday that e-commerce platforms have started this year's event at an earlier date than the market expected, reflecting their confidence in consumers' purchasing power and their intention to bank on the national trade-in programs that cover a wide range of consumer goods.
Sales should be higher this year, Liu said, noting that vendors' interests will also be better looked after this year as platforms place more emphasis on maintaining a balance between vendors and customers.
In a bid to stimulate consumer spending, China has rolled out an expansive trade-in policy across multiple sectors this year, and the program has made phased progress, delivering tangible benefits to consumers and driving sales growth.
The program has enabled more than 120 million consumers to receive cash subsidies, boosting sales to more than 720 billion yuan, an official with the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said on April 25.
As of the end of April 24, the nationwide trade-ins had accounted for sales of 36.61 million mobile phones and other digital products, and 37.12 million units of home decor products, kitchenware and bathroom ware, according to the MOFCOM.
Twelve e-commerce platforms attended a seminar held recently in South China's Guangdong Province to discuss ways to integrate domestic and foreign trade, according to the Guangzhou Daily.
(Cover image: Xinhua)
