Alibaba, JD See Sales Soar In 618 Festival, Apple And Xiaomi Emerge As Top Selling Brands

Chinese e-commerce giants Alibaba Group Holding BABA and JD.com JD noted strong sales momentum in their campaigns for the 618 shopping festival following government subsidies.

The festival in China runs from June 1 to June 18 each year. It’s one of China’s most significant shopping events, from the end of May to June 20.

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Preliminary 618 retail data from Alibaba’s domestic e-commerce unit Taobao and Tmall Group (TTG) showed sales of consumer electronics products and home appliances surged 283% during the campaign’s initial checkout period from May 13 to May 26, compared with the initial checkout period of its 2024 Singles’ Day campaign, SCMP reported on Tuesday.

JD.com’s home appliances and electronics sales rose ~380% in the first hour of its 618 campaign.

Alibaba and JD.com data reflects improved domestic retail spending, as the government subsidy offers each consumer a rebate of up to 2,000 yuan ($278) per item.

China’s economy showed signs of recovery in the first quarter of 2025. The quarterly retail sales rose 4.6%, while the gross domestic product expanded by 5.4%.

As of May 30, 217 brands on Alibaba’s Taobao and Tmall retail platforms, including major smartphone vendors Apple Inc AAPL, Xiaomi XIACF XIACY, and Huawei Technologies, had each topped 100 million yuan in sales since the 618 shopping campaign kicked off.

JD.com said Apple, Xiaomi, and Huawei each recorded over 100 million yuan in sales within the first hour of its 618 shopping promotion.

UBS Group and HSBC expressed optimism about Chinese stocks, citing the recent tariff pause with the U.S., potential stimulus measures from Beijing, and attractive low valuations as key drivers.

Neil Hosie of UBS said Beijing’s economic policy measures in September and the emergence of artificial intelligence start-up DeepSeek’s affordable models sparked global investor interest in China equities, slowly translating into more significant fund flows.

Herald van der Linde of HSBC said that nearly 50 trillion yuan, deemed excess savings over the COVID-19 pandemic years, will find their way back into local and offshore equity markets.

HSBC said mainland Chinese households held 160 trillion yuan ($22 trillion) in cash, mostly invested in bank time deposits. About a third of it could flow into stock markets in Hong Kong as lower interest rates drive demand for riskier assets.

HSBC said most of the cash flowing into Hong Kong’s stock market had gone into high-growth sectors such as internet firms, electric vehicle (EV) makers, and other high-yielding companies like Alibaba.

Price Actions: At last check Wednesday, BABA stock was up 1.54% at $116.74 premarket, while JD was up 1.11%.

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