618: China’s Multi-Billion E-Commerce Festival

SHOPPING 618

2020

China is renowned for the many e-commerce shopping festivals taking place throughout the year, which are a great opportunity for customers to buy highly discounted products as well as for brands to increase sales and to acquire visibility in the market.

中国以全年举办的众多电商购物节而闻名,这是消费者购买高折扣产品以及品牌增加销售额和获得市场知名度的绝佳机会。


With China being the world’s largest e-commerce market, brands of every kind are planning some of the best promotions to be deployed during 618. This festival is usually taken into high consideration because it’s a great opportunity for brands and marketers to spot the latest trends that could shape their strategies in the second half of the year. In addition to this, this year’s 618 will also be the center of attention by virtue of being the first significant e-commerce festival taking place after the COVID-19 outbreak.

随着中国成为全球最大的电商市场,各种品牌都计划在618购物狂欢节期间推出一些好的促销活动。这个节日通常会受到高度重视,因为这是品牌和营销人员发现最新趋势的绝佳机会,这些趋势可能会在下半年帮助形成他们的战略。除此之外,今年的618也将成为关注的焦点,因为它是继新冠疫情爆发之后第一个重要的电商购物节。

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What is618?

什么是618购物狂欢节

618 is a mid-year festival taking place from June 1st to June 18th, hence the name. It was launched in 2010 by JD.com to celebrate its founding anniversary (6/18) but during the past few years other Chinese e-commerce giants have also joined this festival by heavily promoting special festival-like promotions on their platforms.

618购物狂欢节是指从6月1日延续到6月18日的年中购物盛典。它于2010年由京东为了庆祝其成立周年(6/18)而设立,但在过去几年中,其他中国电子商务巨头也加入了这个节日,在他们的平台上大力推广类似节日的特殊促销活动。

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Why Does618 Matter?

为什么618购物狂欢节很重要?

Revenue 收入

E-commerce festivals are all about numbers, which can be measured according to a series of criteria such as year-on-year (YOY) increase, gross merchandise volume (GMV), new users, specific category sales and overall sales, to name a few. Based on the numbers achieved in 2019, it’s easy to understand why 618 is now considered one of China’s top e-commerce festivals:

电商购物节通常与数字紧密相关,可以根据同比增长、商品总量、新用户、特定品类销售、整体销售等一系列标准来衡量。根据2019年取得的部分成绩,很容易理解为什么618购物狂欢节现在被视为中国顶级电商购物节之一

  • JD achieved a YOY increase of 26.6% with over RMB 200 billion (US$31.5 bn); 京东实现同比增长26.6%,超过2000亿元人民币(315亿美元);

  • Pinduoduo reached +300% for its GMV; 拼多多GMV达到+300%;

  • Alibaba gained +300 million users after the festival; 阿里巴巴节后新增了3亿用户;

  • Within the first minute of the festival launch, the sales of beauty care products broke through RMB 100 million (US$14 million). 一分钟内,美容保健品销售额突破1亿元人民币(1400万美元)。

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Consumer Trends 消费者趋势

As China’s market landscape continuously evolves, it’s essential for brands and marketers to understand the country’s dynamic trends. In this regard, similarly to other major festivals, 618 offers great insights on consumers’ behavior. These are the major trends which have emerged from the previous 618 festival.

随着中国市场格局的不断演变,品牌和营销人员必须了解中国的动态趋势。在这方面,类似于其他主要电商购物节,618购物狂欢节提供了对消费者行为的深刻见解。以下是在过去的618中出现的三个主要趋势。

  1. Lower-Tier Cities 中小城市

    There is a growing consumption in third, fourth and fifth tier-cities, namely China’s smaller cities and towns. This is due to the fact that residents in these cities have an increasing access to disposable income and an increasing interest for high-quality goods, as demonstrated by the fact that Alibaba’s gross merchandise volume from these cities grew by 100% YOY during the period, along with 70% of Pinduoduo’s physical goods were sold in lower-tier regions. Interestingly, although consumers in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou (first-tier cities) still dominated 618 sales, the top three cities with the most accelerated sales performance in 2019 were Beitun and Tumxuk in Xinjiang, and Qingdao in Shangdong province.

    三、四、五线城市,也就是中国的小城镇,其消费在不断增长。这是因为这些城市的居民获得可支配收入的机会越来越大,对优质商品的兴趣也越来越高,这一点从阿里巴巴在这些城市的商品总量同比增长100%就可以看出,同时拼多多的实体货物70%仍销往较小规模的地区。有趣的是,尽管上海、北京和广州(一线城市)的消费者仍然占据了618的主要销售份额,但2019年销售业绩增长最快的前三个城市分别是新疆的北屯和图木斯克,以及山东青岛。


  2. Premiumization 奢侈品消费

    Consumers are showing an increasingly stronger preference for premium products. This trend is particularly noticeable in lower-tier cities and younger generations, especially those labeled with the moniker “small-town youth”. In fact, most e-commerce platforms saw the number of consumers under 25 years old who purchased luxury products rise by 50%. Overall, Chinese consumers seem to be paying increasingly more attention to high-quality products, whether that be for a healthier lifestyle or for the desire to treat themselves with luxury goods.

    消费者对高档产品的偏好越来越强烈。这种趋势在中小型城市和年轻一代尤其明显,特别是那些被冠以“小城镇青年”的人。事实上,在大多数电商平台上,25岁以下购买奢侈品的消费者数量增长了50%。总的来说,中国消费者似乎越来越关注高质量的产品,可能是为了更健康的生活方式,也可能是希望用奢侈品来犒劳自己。


  3. Younger Generations 年轻一代

    Among the data collected during 618, another major trend that emerged is represented by the fact that most e-commerce festivals’ consumers belong to younger generations. For example, nearly 80% of Pinduoduo’s sales during the 618 campaign came from users born in the 1980s and 1990s. This fact puts younger generations’ favorite products under the spotlight during e-commerce festivals. To name a few categories, on Tmall within one hour since the beginning of 618 in 2019 the sales of eye-cream went up by 300%, followed by perfumes up by 290%, and lipsticks up by 239%. In addition, within the first 17 minutes the revenue coming from baby and maternity products reached more than RMB 500 million.

    在618购物狂欢节收集的数据中,出现的另一个主要趋势是,大多数电商平台的消费者属于年轻一代。例如,在618活动中,拼多多近80%的销售额来自80后和90后,这使得年轻一代最喜爱的产品在电商购物节上备受瞩目。举几个例子,2019年618最初开始的一小时内,天猫的眼霜销量增长了300%,其次是香水销量增长了290%,唇膏销量增长了239%。此外,在最初的17分钟内,来自婴儿和孕妇产品的收入超过5亿元人民币。

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What to Expect for the Upcoming 618?

即将到来的618有何展望?

Next week the 2020 edition of 618 will begin, even though many promotions are already available online since mid-May. This year more than ever all eyes are on 618 to observe Chinese consumers’ trends in terms of assessing the real potential of post-COVID-19 revenge spending, as well as spotting the categories of interests in which brands should focus on for the second half of the year, and understanding the new domestic market dynamics.

尽管自5月中旬以来,网上已经陆续出现很多促销活动,但实际上从下周开始,2020年的618购物狂欢节才正式启动。今年所有的目光都将比以往更加关注618,以观察中国消费者的趋势,评估新冠疫情后报复性消费的真正潜力,以及探究品牌下半年应关注的趋势,并了解新的国内市场动态

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If you’re interested in getting more information about China’s e-commerce festivals, don’t hesitate to get in touch with Eastant team!

如果您有兴趣了解更多中国电商购物节的信息,请随时与亦适达团队联系!

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