Douyin reports record brand and creator figures for 618 shopping bonanza
On May 19, Douyin e-commerce released data for its 2026 618 shopping festival promotion, which began May 15. In the first three days, brands surpassing 100 million RMB (14.7 million) in sales rose 89% YoY, while over 1 million new creators participated for the first time. A 10-billion-RMB ($1.47 billion) consumer subsidy drove a 338% increase in merchants exceeding 10 million RMB in subsidy-driven sales. Small and medium-sized creators (under 1 million followers) contributed nearly 80% of creator-driven sales. By category, apparel merchants exceeding 10 million RMB grew 229%, beauty brands rose 50%, and sports and outdoor merchants surpassing 1 million RMB grew 83%.
Related reading: JD.com, Tmall break 618 shopping festival records