Alibaba and JD launched their annual 6.18 mid-year shopping festivals, which mark China’s largest online retail promotion since the outbreak of Covid-19.

Within hours, JD heralded a 400-per-cent year-on-year increase in sales of luxury fashion goods, with sales of Ferragamo, Hugo Boss, Lancel and MiuMiu all up by more than 300 per cent.

Alibaba also reported increased interest from luxury labels, with close to 180 participating, including Cartier, Chanel, Burberry, Balenciaga and Montblanc.

Within the first 10 hours of the campaign, total gross merchandise volume (GMV) jumped 50 per cent over last year at Alibaba. Cosmetics and home appliances proved particularly popular, their GMV doubling over last year. 

Alibaba’s campaign included issuing US$1.96 billion worth of digital coupons in advance of the event to boost purchasing. 

More than 100,000 brands on Alibaba’s Tmall are participating in the 6.18 event – nearly twice the number of last year, including tech giant Apple. Five hours into the campaign, Apple sold more than $70 million worth of products.

“Online consumption has seen a post-pandemic revival since March, and the sales rebound that we have observed on Taobao and Tmall has been very encouraging,” said Liu Bo, GM of Tmall and Taobao marketing and operations.

Both Alibaba and JD say sales of luxury products have been increasing steadily since the pandemic.