More worries for China, sales at big e-commerce festival drop for first time
"618" festival sales period have grown, now lasts for weeks
Second-biggest annual China discount event after Singles Day
JD.com reports turnover, sales volumes hit 618 record this year
Consumer demand remains sluggish on worries over economy, jobs
Revises with third party sales data in paragraphs 1-3
By Casey Hall and Sophie Yu
SHANGHAI, June 19 (Reuters) -Sales fell for the first time ever atChina's blowoutmid-year e-commerce sales festival as consumers remain cautious about spending as the economy sputters, according to third-party data estimates released on Wednesday.
Combined gross merchandise volume (GMV), a widely used proxy for e-commerce sales, reached 742.8 billion yuan ($102.36 billion) across China's major online platforms during the so called "618" shopping event, 7% lower than the same period last year, digital retail data provider Syntun said.
Sales in 618 had grown even during the pandemic, according to Syntun, and peaked in 2023 at nearly 800 billion yuan.
This year the shopping festival failedto stir up much excitement among shoppers, industry experts said, even as major platforms extended offers to a weeks-long period to woo consumers who have been tightening their belts amid a gloomy economic outlook.
The festival, named after the June 18 founding date of e-commerce provider JD.com 9618.HK but embraced by all platforms, is China's second-biggest annual sales event after Singles Day in November and is seen as akey test of household consumption.
The world's second-biggest economy is being weighed down by a prolonged property crisis and high unemployment, weighing heavily on consumer confidence.
"With discounts available year-round, buzz around 618 has diminished," said Jacob Cooke, CEO of e-commerce consultancy WPIC Marketing + Technologies.
JD.com said on Wednesday its turnover and order volumes reached a new high over the festival period, which ran from the end of May to June 18 this year. It did not elaborate on the exact growth rate of its orders or sales during the festival, which was first launched in 2010 as just a one-day sale.
Major players such as JD.com and Alibaba's 9988.HK Tmall and Taobao platforms this year cancelled a traditional pre-sale period in which shoppers could place deposits on products and complete their purchases later. Instead, the sales period itself was extended.
Sluggish demand alsois pushing retailers to constantly focus on low prices and lower profit margins, analysts said, adding to disinflationary pressures.
An analysis by consultancy Re-Hub of luxury brands' discounting strategies during this year's 618 festival found nearly half of the brands they tracked either maintained or reduced their average discounts from the previous year, while 20% increased their average discounts.
HOME APPLIANCES AND BEAUTY PRODUCTS
Alibaba had previously flagged in a mid-618 season update that sectors such as home appliances were outperforming on its platforms, led by brands such as Haier and Xiaomi 1810.HK.
The e-commerce giant said on Wednesday that sales of internationalbrands including Nike NKE.N, L'Oreal OREP.PA, Lancome and Adidas surpassed 1 billion yuan ($137.82 million) on Tmall during the period.
Apple AAPL.O offered discounts of up to 2,300 yuan ($318) on select iPhone models via its Tmall flagship store in a bid to keep pace with domestic competitor Huawei HWT.UL.
Within the first hours of sales, Alibaba said Apple had sold more than 200 million yuan of merchandise.
Rival PDD Holdings' PDD.O Pinduoduo, which does not traditionally disclose 618 sales data, did not respond immediately to a request for information.
Given low prices are now such a common feature of China's consumer landscape, it is becoming more difficult for e-commerce platforms to keep customers engaged - even with traditionally successful sales festivals.
"I haven't been paying constant attention to 618, to be honest, because there are just so many (shopping festivals)," said Anita Meng, a university student from Hangzhou.
"Even if these festivals are still going strong, my wallet is already exhausted," she said, adding she only made one purchase this 618 - a gaming chair for her older brother that was reduced from more than 1,200 yuan to 1,000 yuan.
($1 = 7.2570 Chinese yuan renminbi)
Reporting by Casey Hall in Shanghai and Sophie Yu in Beijing; Editing by Miyoung Kim, Jamie Freed and Kim Coghill
Actifs liés
Dernières actualités
Avertissement : Les entités de XM Group proposent à notre plateforme de trading en ligne un service d'exécution uniquement, autorisant une personne à consulter et/ou à utiliser le contenu disponible sur ou via le site internet, qui n'a pas pour but de modifier ou d'élargir cette situation. De tels accès et utilisation sont toujours soumis aux : (i) Conditions générales ; (ii) Avertissements sur les risques et (iii) Avertissement complet. Un tel contenu n'est par conséquent fourni que pour information générale. En particulier, sachez que les contenus de notre plateforme de trading en ligne ne sont ni une sollicitation ni une offre de participation à toute transaction sur les marchés financiers. Le trading sur les marchés financiers implique un niveau significatif de risques pour votre capital.
Tout le matériel publié dans notre Centre de trading en ligne est destiné à des fins de formation / d'information uniquement et ne contient pas – et ne doit pas être considéré comme contenant – des conseils et recommandations en matière de finance, de fiscalité des investissements ou de trading, ou un enregistrement de nos prix de trading ou une offre, une sollicitation, une transaction à propos de tout instrument financier ou bien des promotions financières non sollicitées à votre égard.
Tout contenu tiers, de même que le contenu préparé par XM, tels que les opinions, actualités, études, analyses, prix, autres informations ou liens vers des sites tiers contenus sur ce site internet sont fournis "tels quels", comme commentaires généraux sur le marché et ne constituent pas des conseils en investissement. Dans la mesure où tout contenu est considéré comme de la recherche en investissement, vous devez noter et accepter que le contenu n'a pas été conçu ni préparé conformément aux exigences légales visant à promouvoir l'indépendance de la recherche en investissement et, en tant que tel, il serait considéré comme une communication marketing selon les lois et réglementations applicables. Veuillez vous assurer que vous avez lu et compris notre Avis sur la recherche en investissement non indépendante et notre avertissement sur les risques concernant les informations susdites, qui peuvent consultés ici.
