On 28 May, Tmall started its second round of sales during the longest-ever 618 Shopping Festival, after a presale period. 16 and 26, Uniqlo, Urban Revivo, and Chinese outdoors brand Beneunder were the biggest winners of the apparel presale, each earning more than 100 million RMB (13.88 million USD). Meanwhile, categories that enjoy the “state subsidy”, including electrical appliances, consumer electronics, furniture and homeware, also grew 283% compared to last year’s Double 11.
Within the apparel category, around 345 brands earned over 10 million RMB (1.39 million USD) and nearly 3,090 brands sold over 1 million RMB (138,806 USD) during the presale. 1,088 brands increased sales by over 500% year-on-year (YoY). Much of the growth comes from the brands’ ability to foresee trends, such as how Beneunder leveraged the need for sun protection to push its bucket hats to become the best in the category. Meanwhile, the improved user experience helped membership sales grow. Not only did brand membership contribute to more than 60% of the brands’ sales, but Alibaba’s 88VIP members also contributed nearly 60% of overall transactions, a near 40% YoY growth.
Haier leads in the large electrical appliances category, followed by Midea, Xiaomi and Gree. Small appliances saw Xiaomi dominating. A combination of governmental subsidies and the sales festival saw another boom in high-end appliances. For example, 100-inch TV sets saw 150% growth. Cleaning robots witnessed a 10-fold growth in sales and a 19-fold growth in searches. Pet-related appliances also doubled. Digital cameras experienced a renaissance in popularity with sales up 80% compared to the last 618.
As the second wave of 618 progresses, Alimama’s AI promotion has helped merchants reach their target audience. The “super livestream” saw its transactions grow by over 50%. With the help of AI, this 618 might really see a return of shopping festivals.