Chinese ecommerce giants entice cautious consumers with steep mid-year discounts

China’s e-commerce platforms are competing fiercely in the country’s first major shopping festival after the pandemic, offering steep discounts to entice frugal consumers in more worrying signs for an economy struggling to build momentum.

The 618 festival, named after the founding date of JD.com but embraced by all platforms and running from late May until June 18, is a key test of household consumption appetite, vital to bring China’s growth on a sounder footing.

This year, JD.com, Tmall, Pinduoduo and others are investing billions of yuan in subsidies and incentives to keep gross sales growing, in what analysts interpret as subdued confidence among the platforms and shoppers.