China’s June 18 online shopping festival, the second most important e-commerce event in the country after Singles’ Day in November, is set for less fanfare this year amid weak consumer spending and disruption to supply chains due to COVID-19 prevention measures, reports the South China Morning Post.
In a break from tradition, major e-commerce platforms such as Alibaba Group Holding and JD.com have largely refrained from boasts about expected gross sales and stellar year-on-year comparisons. Instead the companies have focused promotional activity for this year’s event on the level of service they can provide to merchants.
The more muted festival, which was started by JD.com in 2004 as a rival to Alibaba’s Singles’ Day, is still expected to attract bargain-hunters although the change in tone underlines the fact that the days of breakneck e-commerce growth are over, analysts said.
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