Chongqing - This year's "618" shopping festival is the first major consumer festival after China managed COVID-19 with measures against Class-B infectious diseases and is becoming a benchmark for testing economic recovery.
The "618" shopping festival is an e-commerce event in China initiated by JD.com and named after its foundation day, June 18. The festival usually lasts 18 days and has become the second-largest shopping festival in China after Double 11, initiated by another Chinese e-commerce behemoth, Taobao.
This year's "618" shopping festival saw various platforms upgrading their subsidy efforts. According to the Paper, JD.com's participation in the "618" festival with 10-billion-level subsidies reached over ten times the number of subsidized goods compared to March.
Kuaishou E-commerce invested billions of yuan in platform traffic and subsidized one billion yuan worth of goods. Suning.com provided consumers with incentives such as trade-in subsidies and interest-free installment plans in multiple stores nationwide.
From 8 p.m. on May 31 to 12 a.m. on June 17, Chongqing Customs District released a total of 2.01 million cross-border e-commerce import lists, with a value of 449 million yuan, representing year-on-year growth of 8.32% and 9.95%, respectively.
The total number of cross-border e-commerce lists will be estimated to exceed 2.5 million, and the value will exceed 500 million yuan throughout the shopping festival.
Chongqing Customs District reported 449 million yuan of value during the 618 shopping festival, 9.95% higher than last year, showing signs of economic recovery. (Graphics/Kenny Dong)
China has consistently ranked first worldwide regarding the online retail market, online shoppers, and digitized express delivery services. The shopping festival received widespread attention during China's economic recovery due to the strong penetration of e-commerce in China, which is expected to boost consumption.
In 2022, the number of express delivery personnel in China reached nearly 4.5 million. Mo Zhiwei, a delivery man for ZTO Express, is one of the members of this large workforce. He works almost 12 hours daily, the average situation in this busy industry.
According to Mo, he delivers over 500 packages every day throughout the year. In addition, he is responsible for timely package collection and handling customer feedback.
"Actually, our work involves a lot of interaction with people, like how to deal with customer complaints and even unjust accusations," he said. "This is a challenge for every delivery man."
According to ZTO Express Chongqing Management Center, during the 618 period, ZTO Express is expected to handle an average of 2.6 million packages per day in Chongqing, representing a 30% increase compared to last year.