China’s first nationwide shopping spree after the Covid-19 endemic got off to a strong start, reflecting a gradual revival of consumer confidence amid brighter economic prospects. Live-streaming on Alibaba-backed Tmall.com generated transactions valued at CNY2 billion within the first 90 minutes on the first day of the “618” shopping festival, which lasts until June 20. The company said it will invite 600 entrepreneurs to give live-streaming presentations during the shopping festival, including Dong Mingzhu, Chairwoman of Chinese home appliance firm Gree Electric Appliances, which operates more than 30,000 brick-and-mortar stores across the country. Apple’s performance during the largest mid-year shopping festival in China is in the spotlight. Sales of iPhones on Alibaba-backed Tmall exceeded CNY500 million within five hours on June 1 – a record for iPhone on the platform and equivalent to a day’s sales in China, said Alibaba. Another e-commerce platform JD.com also had a better-than-expected performance on the first day of the shopping festival, with sales of luxury products skyrocketing 400% year-on-year in the first hour, and sales of cosmetics surging 500%.

One white-collar worker in Beijing commented to the Global Times that “as most Chinese cities have come out of lockdown, I believe that more consumers want to spend after a long period of staying inside”. Dong Dengxin, Director of the Finance and Securities Institute at the Wuhan University of Science and Technology, told the Global Times that online shopping will be a highlight of China’s economic growth this year. He predicted the sector will grow at least 20% in the second quarter. The number of packages handled in May in Zhejiang province reached 1.68 billion, up 52.5% year-on-year. Wei Jianguo, former Chinese Vice Commerce Minister, told the Global Times that China is expected to exceed the U.S. to become the largest consumption market this year. “Domestic retail sales are expected to reach CNY45 trillion in 2020, up 8% year-on-year, with new types of consumption predicted to be robust,” he said.

The Shanghai Daily remarks that new habits of shopping and even dining are appearing. Research and data firm Kantar, in a global survey of more than 45,000 consumers in late April, found a third of households increased their online spending during lockdown. At the same time, the percentage of people who say they will pay more attention to prices has increased to 68% from 59% about one month ago. Much discretionary spending will be put on hold, as the risks and uncertainties experienced during the pandemic made people save more. “E-commerce and particularly ensuring a great customer experience need to become a mainstay of every consumer brand,” said Rosie Hawkins, Chief Innovation Officer at Kantar.

About two-thirds of respondents in the Kantar survey said they prefer to purchase goods and services from their own country. China has become the top country under the “buy local” slogan, with 87% of people here expressing that view, followed by consumers in Italy, South Korea and Spain. Retailers or manufacturers that were slow to respond to the online shift will be left behind for certain, Christine Peng, Manager of the China Consumer Sector at Swiss investment bank UBS said. “In the short term, discounts will be a major driver of consumer spending,” Peng added. Out of 10 categories where consumers said they intend to increase spending in the next six months, the majority are related to daily necessities. Nutritional supplements were the one exception. Over 55% of respondents said they have purchased more lower-price products following the virus outbreak, and 57% said they intend to buy more sustainable or environmentally friendly products in the future.

JD.com came up with the idea of a mid-year sale more than ten years ago and it has since become the second biggest shopping festival after Singles Day on November 11. The June 18 sales campaign has turned into a multi-week event and this year online retailers are offering big discounts to woo consumers gradually returning to their shopping routines. More than 25,000 brands from 92 countries and regions are offering over 400,000 new products through Alibaba’s imported goods subsidiary Tmall Global.