China's e-commerce platforms, logistics providers gear up for 'Double 11' shopping gala, showing upbeat momentum under policy support

Chinese logistics providers, e-commerce platforms and consumers are gearing up for the "Double 11" shopping festival on November 11, the country's largest annual shopping event, amid nationwide efforts to boost consumption.

The trend shows that the country's consumption capacity remains steady, supported by government policies such as trade-in programs, a Chinese expert said, noting that with additional pro-consumption policies being implemented, further growth is expected.

This year's Double 11 checkout period began at 8 pm on October 20, with Taobao and Tmall witnessing impressive brand performances. By 9 pm on the day, 80 brands had surpassed 100 million yuan ($14.06 million) in gross merchandise value, while more than 30,000 brands doubled their first-hour sales, both outpacing last year's opening results, according to data the company sent to the Global Times on Sunday.

In the first hour of sales, 80 brands — including Apple, Estée Lauder and Lululemon — each recorded transactions exceeding 100 million yuan, and 30,516 brands' sales doubled year-on-year, while 18,919 brands' first-hour sales surpassed their full-day performances on the opening day of last year's event, according to Tmall.

Meituan Flash Buy, an instant retail business of China's e-commerce conglomerate Meituan, said on Sunday that on October 31, the opening day of the promotion, nearly 800 brands including Apple saw sales more than double year-on-year, according to media reports.

Official flagship stores of brands such as PurCotton and Laifen recorded sales more than 10 times higher than usual, while overall sales of hundreds of brand flagship stores grew by 300 percent, according to the report.

Sales of nearly 300 product categories more than doubled year-on-year. Sales of smartphones doubled, and baijiu or Chinese distilled spirit sales increased more than fivefold, said the report.

According to China Railway, the 20-day peak period for "Double 11" shopping express services officially began on Saturday, the Xinhua News Agency reported. During this period, the railway authorities will designate more than 1,700 high-speed passenger trains to carry express shipments using surplus carriage space and high-speed rail express cabinets, up from 1,500 trains last year.

Liu Shuang, a Beijing resident who has closely followed the shopping festival for years, told the Global Times on Sunday that this year's "Double 11" promotion is stronger, with discounts starting earlier — as early as mid-October.

"I bought some hobby supplies, like gardening tools, and daily necessities such as underwear and common imported medicines," Liu said, noting that this year features more straightforward price cuts, while last year mainly relied on "spend-and-save" promotions. However, she added that her overall spending is still lower than last year since she skipped many nonessential items.

"The ramped-up preparations by logistics service providers and e-commerce platforms for the upcoming shopping festival, together with the early and active responses from consumers, indicate that the country's consumption strength remains solid," Hu Qimu, a deputy secretary-general of Forum 50 for Digital-Real Economies Integration, told the Global Times on Sunday.

"Domestically, the market continues to show confidence, supported by positive prospects for China's economic growth and government policies such as trade-in programs aimed at boosting consumption. Externally, the recently concluded China-US trade talks have brought greater certainty to businesses and markets," said Hu, noting that all these factors have fueled the uptrend in consumption ahead of the "Double 11" shopping spree.

China's consumption market has shown a steady trend of recovery, the latest government data showed. The Consumer Price Index fell 0.3 percent year-on-year in September, while rising 0.1 percent month-on-month, indicating steady momentum in domestic consumption, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on October 15.

From January to September, the added value of China's wholesale and retail sector reached 10.5 trillion yuan, up 5.6 percent year-on-year, accounting for 10.3 percent of the country's GDP, according to the NBS.

Behind the positive figures are the government's supportive policies, including the effects of trade-in policies that have continued this year. According to the Ministry of Commerce, more than 76 million consumers have purchased more than 126 million home appliances across 12 major categories through trade-in programs.

Based on what has been achieved, and with more pro-consumption policies expected to take effect, the outlook for a continued recovery in the consumer market remains positive, Hu said.