China’s 618 Shopping Festival Growth Falters as Consumer Spending Weakens

Residents gathered at a lottery booth in Guangzhou on June 21, 2026, purchasing and scratching instant tickets.

Vcg | Visual China Group | Getty Images

Beijing — China’s consumer spending slowdown persisted into June, with growth during one of the nation’s largest online shopping festivals weakening sharply compared to the previous year.

These figures underscore that household spending remains a weak spot in China’s economy, even as exports and technology sectors show stronger performance.

Retail sales dipped 0.6% in May from a year earlier, marking the first decline since China emerged from pandemic restrictions in 2022.

“The divergence between high‑tech and AI on one side and property and consumption on the other is widening in both industrial production and capital market data,” Goldman Sachs’ Hui Shan noted in a Monday note.

Top officials’ domestic travel, recent policy communications, and on‑the‑ground channel checks all point to these trends persisting.

The firm cut its forecast for second‑quarter real GDP growth to 4.5% year‑over‑year, down from a prior estimate of 4.7%, while holding the full‑year outlook steady at 4.7%.

The 618 shopping festival provided one of the latest snapshots of consumer demand, with spending growth remaining subdued despite promotional efforts by major retailers.

Syntun estimates total online sales at 934 billion yuan ($137.86 billion), including same‑day instant delivery orders and group purchases.

Among e‑commerce platforms, Alibaba’s Tmall topped sales, followed by JD.com and ByteDance’s Douyin, but the segment recorded only 0.9% growth, according to the Syntun report.

Secondhand electronics platform ATRenew reported nearly 80% year‑over‑year sales growth during 618, highlighting demand for lower‑cost goods.

China’s online retail sector benefited last year from state subsidies that encouraged consumers to trade in older electronics for newer models.

This year, spending patterns shifted; instead of the 400% subsidy‑driven surge in home appliance sales seen in prior 618 festivals, demand for home cleaning services surged, Jacob Cooke, co‑founder and CEO of WPIC, said, citing figures from JD.com.

“Fashion performed well, as did lifestyle, beauty, and health‑supplement categories. People are taking good care of themselves, looking good, and eager to go out and experience the world,” Cooke said on CNBC’s “The China Connection” on Friday.

He also pointed to rising demand for AI‑related hardware and increased use of AI tools by online shopping platforms, which have boosted brands’ profit margins.

However, the broader economic impact of AI remains uncertain.

“AI‑related job displacement could amplify macroeconomic headwinds and delay, if not derail, the recovery in the property market and household consumption,” Goldman’s Shan warned.

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