China's JD.com '618' Shopping Event Posts Slowest Growth

Total sales at China's e-commerce giant JD.com increased 10.3% in the 18 days leading up to Sunday, during the first major shopping festival since the recent COVID-19 outbreak, according to the company, down from 27.7% in 2021, Sophie Yu and Brenda Goh reported for Reuters.

Photo Insert: The “618” event, which began in 2004 to commemorate JD.com's founding anniversary, is China's second largest shopping festival after Singles Day in November.

This year's figure was the slowest for the retailer, demonstrating how lockdowns to halt the Omicron variant of coronavirus and slowing economic conditions have shriveled consumer appetite in the world's second largest economy.

Over the "618" period, Chinese shoppers spent 379.3 billion yuan ($56.48 billion) on JD's platform, according to the company's official WeChat account.

"We are further improving delivery services in urban and rural areas," the company said in a statement, referring to efforts made during the event to expand its supply chain infrastructure and digital intelligence technology.

The “618” event, which began in 2004 to commemorate JD.com's founding anniversary, is China's second largest shopping festival after Singles Day in November. JD.com's competitors, Alibaba Group and Pinduoduo, do not publish 618 figures.

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