The 3 Biggest Takeaways From China’s 618 Shopping Festival This Year

As China’s second biggest shopping festival after Singles’ Day (November 11), this year’s 618 festival (which takes place around June 18th) made an impact as China continues to recover in the post-pandemic world.

Just like Singles’ Day, 618 is not just a one-day event, but lasts an extended period of time and can start as early as June 1.

Charting the latest items that young people are spending their money on, to “little fresh meat” singer and actor Xiao Zhan making history, here are the 3 biggest takeaways from the massive shopping festival.

Go Bankrupt or Go Home

Some people in China might say that if you haven’t heard of the explosion in surfing or camping (or glamping to be more accurate) in the country this year, you’ve been living under a rock. Statistics from 618 can back that up.

According to leading e-commerce site Tmall, the sales of camping products on the first day of 618 increased by 130% compared to last year. Outdoor pour-over coffee makers and vintage gaslights have become two of the most popular items for avid glampers.

Surfing, meanwhile, has also picked up steam in China as a result of people not being able to travel abroad. Tmall reports a 40% increase in sales of surf boards during this year’s 618.

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The rise of fishing, however, is the biggest surprise. Each day during the 618 festival, more than 300,000 people purchased fishing gear, while the percentage of post-90′ and post-00′ customers grew substantially.

More Smart Products for Pets

As a whole, China is increasingly concerned with the well-being of its pets, with tech-savvy young people buying more intelligent pet products.

And cats are the main beneficiaries.

Up until June 17, the sales in AI products for cats, including automatic water dispensers, automatic feeders, automatic litter boxes and remote control toys increased over 2100%.

According to a report by the data research company CBNData, the percentage of people who own cats compared to other pets increased by 12% in 2019 compared to the previous year.

It’s only a matter of time before cats take over the world.

Xiao Zhan is Back In Full Force

Xiao Zhan is back.

After unexpectedly winning the “Actor of the Year” award at the Baidu Entertainment Awards earlier this year, he has consistently been in the news. About a week ago, he even sued a trolling fan and won 200,000 RMB (around 30,859 USD).

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Not long after Xiao Zhan became the Global Brand Ambassador for the oral care brand Usmile, he had already helped the brand win a boatload of cash — Usmile was the only brand whose sales volume exceeded 100 million RMB (around 15.4 million USD) between June 1 and June 3.

While 618 has come to an end, we’ve only got 5 months to go until China goes crazy for shopping again on November 11.

Cover Image: Depositphotos