Sales event sparks robust spending
China’s purchasing power to underpin global recovery: experts
As this year’s 618 mid- year shopping carnival nears the end, Chinese people’s purchasing power is once again in focus. With early signs of robust purchases over the course of the first buying spree in the post- COVID- 19 era, industry insiders and market observers expect China’s rapid rebound in the consumer sector and its e- commerce prowess to underpin regional and global economic recovery.
Meanwhile, the country’s regulatory toughening for the platform economy that targets unfair and monopolistic market practices – such as coercing merchants to pick one of two platforms to limit consumer choices – helped beef up consumer confidence and ensure sustained growth, they noted.
Major domestic e- commerce platforms including JD and Alibaba’s Tmall kicked off the mid- year shopping campaign on June 1 with record sales. Unlike previous years, this year’s extravaganza began pre- sales from May 24, and is scheduled to conclude on June 20.
While the complete sales tally remains unavailable, there are signs of robust shopping.
On the first day, JD saw its sales from its online supermarket JD Super surge more than seven times from the prior year, with many brands reporting better- than- expected sales, according to JD data.
The spending of Tmall’s premium “88VIP” members also got off to a strong start for this year’s 618, with a jump of 221 percent year- on- year, per Tmall.
According to Dada Nexus, which operates on- demand retail platform JD- Daojia, the platform recorded a rise of over 140 percent in gross sales yearon- year on June 1.
Cross- border e- commerce businesses in China are also enjoying the convenient logistics and favorable policies in the Southeast Asian region.
Miao Yujie, co- founder of Hangzhou- based apparel startup Jollybuyer – which sells clothes to Thailand and Malaysia, said the number of orders doubled on June 6 compared with the same time last year.
“The popularity of Chinese goods in overseas markets is improving gradually. Electronics, home appliances and clothes are very popular due to China’s mature manufacturing industry and price advantage,”
Miao told the Global Times on Thursday, adding that China’s e- commerce businesses have accelerated the regional economic recovery in the post- COVID era as well.
Compared with last year’s mid- year shopping campaign that was shrouded in the haze of COVID- 19, among other uncertainties that prompted many export- oriented businesses to shift their focus into the domestic market, this year’s event is anticipated to retrace its previrus levels, Zhang Yi, CEO of consulting agency iiMedia Research, told the Global Times on Thursday.