Extended offers dampen excitement for China's mid-year e-commerce festival
SHANGHAI - China's mid-year e-commerce sales festival failed to stir up a great deal of excitement among shoppers, industry experts said, even as major platforms extended offers to a weeks-long period to woo belt-tightening consumers amid a gloomy economic outlook.The 618 festival, named after the June 18 founding date of e-commerce provider JD.com, but embraced by all platforms, is China's second-biggest annual sales event after Singles Day in November and a key test of household consumption appetite.A weak sales performance during the festival would indicate further challenges facing the world's second-biggest economy, which is already grappling with a prolonged property crisis and high unemployment."With discounts available year-round, buzz around 618 has diminished," said Jacob Cooke, CEO of e-commerce consultancy WPIC Marketing + Technologies."But the festival is still generating a GMV bump from baseline and overall GMV should be up slightly from 2023," he said, referring to gros