China’s 618 shopping festival:more discounts and user-centered features as rivals learn from Pinduoduo. Credit: Alibaba Group
Major Chinese online retailers including Taobao and JD and emerging platforms like Xiaohongshu have said they saw positive metrics during China’s month-long 618 shopping festival, where low prices have taken center stage as merchants navigate the challenge of reduced consumer spending.
In an email, Alibaba sent to TechNode, the Taobao owner said it has seen “encouraging user engagement and growth” from merchants of all sizes.
Why it matters: The 618 shopping festival is the second largest online shopping event in China, with consumption levels during the event seen as a barometer of the country’s overall spending trends.
Details: Pinduoduo’s standout performance has turned it into a model for competitors, although the discount shopping app has become more aggressive recently as it looks to maintain its appeal. Before its main promotions began in late May, Pinduoduo quietly launched a system designed to automatically adjust prices within the range set by merchants, so that a product’s price drops if a competitor platform offers a lower price.
At the same time, Taobao revamped its homepage to closely resemble that of Pinduoduo, its biggest rival. Changes include reducing the number of fixed channels, and highlighting algorithmically recommended items that it thinks users are likely to buy.
In another key figure revealed by Alibaba, newly-added members of 88VIP, Taobao’s loyalty membership package, more than doubled in May compared to the previous month. The growth was fueled by additional value-added services such as access to unlimited free parcel returns. Taobao said more than 35 million users were recorded as part of the program in the first three months of 2024.
JD, the platform that began the 618 shopping festival in celebration of its founding, this year partnered with Hunan TV for its evening gala three years after such last event was held. As part of the project, JD said it would hand out “heavyweight prizes” including resort stays and sports tickets to users who shopped on the app during the gala, which started at 8 p.m. on Monday.
Elsewhere, content-sharing platform Xiaohongshu reported triple orders on purchases made via its site compared with the same period last year.
Context: The main e-commerce players kicked off their 618 promotions in mid-May, but none have posted overall sales totals for the period.
Cheyenne Dong is a tech reporter now based in Shanghai. She covers e-commerce and retail, AI, and blockchain. Connect with her via e-mail: cheyenne.dong[a]technode.com.
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