JD’s 618 Shopping Festival Kicks Off: Apple, Xiaomi, and Huawei Sales Surge Past 100 Million Yuan

In a testament to the enduring allure of online shopping, China’s e-commerce giant, JD.com, kicked off its highly anticipated 618 shopping festival with a bang. Just one hour into the event’s opening on Tuesday evening, the platform reported remarkable gains: transaction volume, order numbers, and the number of users placing orders all surged by over 200% year-over-year, with over 20,000 brands witnessing a more than threefold increase in their sales figures.

According to JD.com’s initial report, the consumer electronics category recorded particularly strong performance, with sales up more than 380% in the first hour. Top-tier brands like Apple, Xiaomi, Midea, Huawei, and Haier saw their sales figures surpass 100 million yuan (approximately $13.8 million) in a matter of minutes. Furthermore, over 500 appliance and home furnishing brands experienced a tenfold increase in turnover, while the top ten Chinese smart home appliance brands saw a fivefold increase.

High-growth categories included a number of categories seeing over a 10x increase in sales, among them gaming laptops, high-end headphones and speakers, smart robots, and 3D printers.

Luxury tablets saw an over 8x surge, while gaming devices, open-air headphones, smart robots, and camera accessories all increased by over three times. Android and HarmonyOS phones saw an over 4x increase, with high-end graphics cards and stationery gift sets experiencing 200% growth.

The fervor surrounding the 618 festival also extended to consumers in Hong Kong and Macau, where order volumes and transaction values jumped by over sevenfold within the first half-hour. Notable product categories, including refrigerators, flat-screen TVs, washing machines, air conditioners, and graphics cards, saw sales increase by more than 20 times. The products of popular brands like Apple, Xiaomi, Midea, and JD.com’s own Jingzao line-up, enjoyed a significant rise in popularity with Hong Kong customers, with a more than 12-fold increase in sales.

JD.com’s logistics network is currently distributing packages across over 400 cities, including the innovative use of its “Lone Wolf” autonomous delivery vehicles. These robots are partnering with human couriers showcasing technological progress, with delivery distances increasing by 200% year on year.