Author：Yue Liu Editor：Luke Sheehan Jun 22, 2020 11:31 AM (GMT+8)

While the increment has to be taken from competitors, as the ‘homeland’ of JD.com, ‘618’ has become a competing place for major e-commerce platforms.

Online shopping. Image credit: QuinceCreative/Pixabay

► Alibaba achieved CNY 698.2 billion sales on June 18; 3C and home appliances are the most popular categories.
► JD.com reached CNY 269.1 million sales, and more than 91% of orders are same-day deliveries or next-day deliveries conducted by JD Logistics.

The annual ‘618 Shopping Festival’ from June 1 to June 18 came to an end, signaling China’s economic recovery. Alibaba and JD.com hit new record-high sales volumes of CNY 698.2 billion and CNY 269.1 billion, respectively.
 
Alibaba announced that the platform, local governments and merchants issued a total of CNY 14 billion coupons and subsidies during ‘618.’ Taobao’s small and medium-sized merchants received a total of 1 billion more orders compared to the same period last year, benefiting from Alibaba’s ‘Spring Thunder Plan’ which aims to support small and medium businesses.
 
On Tmall platform, one hour after the pre-sale, the transaction amount has reached five times over a year ago. Home appliances are one of the hottest product categories. Gree topped the list with 1.36 billion units sold, followed by Haier and Midea. Two overseas brands, Siemens and A.O. Smith squeezed in on the top 10 list, indicating Chinese brands have managed to gain mindshare in the domestic market.

Smart TVs, air conditioners, gas stoves, water purifiers, and cooker hoods are customers’ favorites. For Gree, air conditioners are winning sales victories thanks to a high reputation. Washing machines, water heaters and refrigerators are the three best-selling home appliances in Haier. Midea is outstanding in small household appliances such as electric fans, kettles, vacuum cleaners and humidifiers.
 
As for JD.com, although sales were not as high as Alibaba, it increased by 33.6% compared to the previous year. JD.com said that the sales of 187 brands exceeded CNY 100 million. The sales of fresh agricultural products, health care medical products and kitchenware increased the fastest. Food and beverage, baby products, beauty and skincare were consumed most. Consumers preferred to spend more on mobile phones, household appliances, and computers, digital products in the shopping festival. The cities with the highest enthusiasm for consumption were Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.
 
Moreover, JD Logistics, with the advantage of self-operating, further has upgraded the ‘front warehouse’ and realized the ‘minute delivery.’ Urumqi’s first order took only 8 minutes and 21 seconds to complete the delivery. More than 91% of orders are same-day delivery or next-day deliveries, conducted by JD Logistics.