Multi-platform investment! "The most volatile in history" 618, showing new consumption trends

Source: Global Times

The annual "618" shopping festival is the "must fight place" of various e-commerce platforms, as the first e-commerce shopping festival after China's epidemic prevention and control has entered a new stage, including Taobao, Jingdong and other platforms have shouted the slogan "the largest investment in history" this year's "618", showing fierce competition. Some commentators said that this year's "618" can be called "the most volume in history". Wang Peng, a researcher at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, said in an interview with the Global Times on the 18th that this year's "618" is the first big promotion after "Class B and B tube", and the enthusiasm for goods and services consumption that has been suppressed by the epidemic for a long time is expected to be released centrally.

"The most invested"

"I haven't bought 'hard goods' online for almost a year." Mr. Wang in Beijing took out the camera lens he ordered during the "618" period from the express locker, while telling the Global Times reporter that the recent subsidy war in e-commerce made him determined to "chop his hands". At the "618" kick-off meeting of various e-commerce companies in May, Dai Shan, CEO of the newly established Taotian Group, said that this year's "618" will definitely make historic huge investment in user scale and user development. Xin Lijun, CEO of JD Retail, said that this year's JD "618" is the largest investment in the entire industry. E-commerce platforms such as Pinduoduo and Suning.com and social platforms such as Douyin and Xiaohongshu have also invested a lot.

As of the 18th, the results of the leading e-commerce companies were dazzling. Liu Bo, president of Alimama and marketing public relations of Taotian Group, said on the 18th that as of 0:00 that day, a total of 2,227 categories of goods sales increased by more than 100% year-on-year. This year is the largest and most diversified Taobao Tmall "618" participating merchants. According to JD.com data, the number of new products, new brands and new categories on the shelves this year has increased significantly, and the contribution rate of new product growth to overall sales has increased by more than 30% compared with the same period last year. Suning Tesco data shows that during the "618" period, the sales volume of fresh air and healthy air conditioners in the county market increased by 86% year-on-year, and the sales of dishwashers, integrated stoves and built-in ovens increased by 89%, 61% and 143% respectively.

Hong Yong, an expert at the China Digital and Real Integration 50 Forum think tank, told the Global Times reporter on the 18th that more and more consumers have become accustomed to shopping on e-commerce platforms, which has also prompted e-commerce platforms to pay more attention to consumer welfare and user experience. Online sales have risen again, and offline consumption has begun to gradually recover, which shows that China's economic consumption may maintain a growth trend.

Cross-border shopping is booming

With the recovery of China, the world's largest e-commerce consumer market, in 2023, "618" has become a global cross-border consumption concentration outbreak node. According to data from the General Administration of Customs of China, the import and export scale of China's cross-border e-commerce exceeded 2 trillion yuan for the first time in 2022, and cross-border e-commerce injected new momentum into the development of foreign trade in the mainland.

"Don't think too much, come to the Sri Lanka National Pavilion on JD Online to buy a sapphire ring!" During the "618" period, Sri Lankan Ambassador to China Palita Kohona worked hard to bring goods for domestic gems, spices and other specialty goods at the headquarters of the JD Building. On the 16th, the envoys of 20 countries, including Sri Lanka, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Indonesia and Kazakhstan, took advantage of the "618" opportunity to stand for their own products through online and offline methods.

In order to win orders from Chinese consumers, envoys from many countries in China "showed their talents". After coming to power, Askar Askar, Minister Counsellor of the Embassy of Kazakhstan in China, took the initiative to ask for a Chinese to speak. Askar was amazed by the enthusiasm of Chinese consumers, with 80% of its products sold out within one hour of the opening of the Kazakhstan National Pavilion. Galton, Minister Counsellor of the Royal Danish Embassy in China, said that he was glad to see that many Danish foods and toys that he used since childhood were welcomed by Chinese consumers.

In addition to food, there are also countries that promote their own tourism. Ouyang Lu, Chief Commercial Counselor of the Embassy of Cyprus in China, announced that the JD National Pavilion in Cyprus officially launched tourism products. Consumers can not only shop for souvenirs in the museum, but also directly book tours that include air tickets and hotels.

According to the "2023 Import Consumption Report" released by the Jingdong Consumer and Industry Development Research Institute on the 16th, compared with the same period in 2020, the turnover of imported brand goods on JD.com from January to May 2023 increased by 50%. Xu Ran, CEO of Jingdong Group, said on the 18th that at present, JD Logistics has nearly 90 bonded warehouses, direct mail warehouses and overseas warehouses overseas, with a total management area of nearly 900,000 square meters.

Cross-border e-commerce orders are non-stop, and cross-border logistics is also extremely busy. Cainiao International Express data shows that during the "618" period this year, it is expected to deploy more than 100 charter flights and more than 20 China-Europe trains to fully promote foreign trade. According to the recent news released by Best Group, in Malaysia, the volume of cross-border bulky goods received by Best in May this year increased by 238% compared with January.

RCEP unleashes purchasing power in Southeast Asia

On June 2, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) entered into full force for the 15 signatories, and the world's largest free trade area entered a new stage of full implementation. Data show that in the first five months of this year, ASEAN was China's largest trading partner, with a total trade value of 2.59 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9.9%. Since the beginning of this month, as domestic e-commerce began the "618" promotion, the Southeast Asian market has continuously released the purchasing power of Chinese goods and established closer ties with Chinese e-commerce platforms.

"In order to allow Malaysians to enjoy the '618' offer, Alibaba's flagship e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia, Laizanda Malaysia, will launch the '618' Global Shopping Day." Malaysia's Vulcan Post website said on the 17th that during the one-day event, local consumers will have the opportunity to buy goods from China, South Korea, Japan, Indonesia and Thailand at low prices. Miss Chen Sizhen from Penang, Malaysia, told the "Global Times" reporter on the 18th that Malaysia has serious inflation, and she needs to save expenses for her family, hoping to take advantage of "618" to buy some cosmetics that she is usually reluctant to buy.

Hong Yong analyzed that the full entry into force of RCEP has a positive role in promoting the development of e-commerce in China and ASEAN. On the one hand, the threshold for entering the ASEAN market has been further reduced, increasing the opportunities for Chinese e-commerce in the ASEAN market. On the other hand, RCEP also provides more cross-border cooperation opportunities for ASEAN e-commerce enterprises, strengthens exchanges and cooperation between e-commerce industries in the region, and brings broader market prospects to Chinese and ASEAN e-commerce enterprises.