Alibaba and JD.com have reported record sales during the 618 sales event, handling USD136.51 billion of sales through their platforms. JD.com’s transaction volumes rose 33.6% year-on-year to CNY269.2 billion (USD38 billion), while Alibaba’s GMV reached CNY698.2 billion (USD98.5 billion.) JD.com’s top categories during the 618 sales event by growth rate included fresh food, medical & health care and kitchenware.
Record sales during the 618 shopping event indicate a recovery in Chinese consumer sentiment post COVID-19. With strong growth across key grocery categories at JD.com – fresh food (+100%), milk products (+360%) – the figures point to an increasing appetite for online grocery shopping in China as well. In support, JD.com partnered with key brands during the promotion – with Coca-Cola reporting sales of its products through the platform rose 200% in the first hour of the promotion on June 1st.
With Chinese ecommerce growth forecast to increase to 34% post COVID-19 in 2020, up from the pre-COVID-19 forecast growth of 26.1%, brands must accelerate ecommerce capability building now. Strategic partnerships with Chinese marketplace platforms can help to drive growth with partners collaborating on data sharing, omnichannel solutions, new product development, marketing innovation and smarter supply chains.
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