Kong Dechen, People’s Daily
The “618” online shopping festival, which occurs annually on June 18 in China, has not only
garnered the interest of Chinese consumers but also attracted brands from all over the world.
Many foreign enterprises joined this event to captivate Chinese consumers and expand their
presence in the huge Chinese market.
During the first four hours of the shopping spree, over 10,000 brands saw their sales skyrocketing
more than five times year on year on JD.com, a major Chinese e-commerce platform, with a
notable presence of brands from overseas.
During the same period, 1,479 foreign brands saw their transactions double from the previous year
on Tmall Global, an e-commerce platform under Alibaba that addresses Chinese consumers’
growing demand for international products. “The platform welcomed 342 new brands during this
year’s shopping festival, all of which demonstrated impressive performance,” said an employee of
Tmall Global.
Many well-known foreign brands, including those specializing in cosmetics and health
supplements, were actively engaging in the shopping festival. For instance, Mistine, a cosmetics
brand in Thailand, stocked over 1.9 million products, with 1.2 million items newly imported to
China. WHC, a Belgium-based health brand, prepared over 650,000 units of high-purity fish oil,
with 10,000 units for its Tmall debut and 160,000 promotional gifts, all flown to bonded
warehouses.
“China has introduced policies and measures to boost consumption this year, aiming to revitalize
the consumer market and unleash consumption potential,” said Wei Jigang, deputy director-
general of the Center for International Knowledge on Development.
“The ‘618’ shopping festival provides insights into how Chinese consumers’ shopping patterns are
evolving, based on their shopping carts,” said Wei.
A prominent shift can be seen in the rising sales of imported products, such as cosmetics, health
supplements, and sporting goods, indicating new trends and growth drivers in China’s consumer
market, along with the country’s continuous expansion of imports, Wei explained.
Imported health and nutritional supplements were highly favored by Chinese consumers during
this year’s shopping festival. According to an executive of Tmall Global, health and beauty brands
remain a substantial part of the overseas brands that have entered the Chinese market. Nutritional
and anti-aging products are currently the fastest-growing new segment in the health category of
the platform. There was also notable growth in premium alcoholic beverages and imported luxury
goods.
A “retro” trend swept across consumers. According to statistics from Tmall Global, the sales
growth of imported digital cameras doubled within the initial 4 hours of the festival. The retro-
styled Japanese brand Olympus, in particular, saw an eight-fold increase in transactions.
Besides, there was a remarkable increase of 518 percent in the sales of motorcycle equipment,
particularly helmets, and a 248 percent growth in overall transactions of imported CDs and DVDs
on the platform.
The sports segment remained a highlight, with hiking, cycling, and water sports gear emerging as
three new major trends in outdoor sports consumption.
According to Du Guochen, head of the e-commerce research institute of the Chinese Academy of
International Trade and Economic Cooperation, a think tank under China’s Ministry of Commerce,
cross-border e-commerce has experienced rapid growth in recent years. Online sales have
continued to grow rapidly in markets like Southeast Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and
Africa, India, and South Korea, said Du.
“Japan, South Korea, and the United States are the main sources of imports for China, from which
China buys cosmetics, clothing, and footwear. Southeast Asian countries remain the major
destinations of Chinese exports, with a continuous improvement in the types of exported products
and constant growth in high-tech product exports,” Du explained.
To accommodate the growing cross-border e-commerce demand, Chinese platform companies are
dedicated to enhancing their transport capacity.
For instance, Cainiao, a world-leading cross-border e-commerce logistics company based in
China, updates its parcel volume prediction every day through artificial intelligence (AI)
technology. If parcel volumes surged across its core economic zones, the company would
promptly launch direct logistics routes, said an executive of Cainiao.
According to statistics, during this year’s “618” shopping festival, the number of Cainiao’s sorting
facilities in operation decreased from the usual levels, resulting in cost reductions and improved
parcel flow.
Expanding imports is integral for boosting consumption. “From a global perspective, China’s
increase in imports provides great opportunities for countries around the world to tap into the
Chinese market and promote economic growth,” said Wei.
“From the Chinese perspective, the imports of high-quality products and services are essential for
China’s high-quality economic development and for improving people’s life quality. Besides,
expanding imports can better build China into a trade powerhouse. Moving forward, China will
continue to improve its import structure and increase the proportion of imported consumer goods,
especially high-end products,” said Wei.
