The end of cheap growth: What 618 reveals about China’s consumers

More than 100 luxury brands launched over 10,000 new products for this year’s 618 shopping festival. Tod's collaboration with Xiao Zhan sold out in less than a minute. More than 20 luxury brands, including Omega, Tudor, Mikimoto and Vivienne Westwood, participated in Tmall’s 618 event for the first time, while sales of jewelry, watches and handbags jumped 70 percent ahead of the 520 (China’s internet Valentine’s Day) gifting season. The momentum extended well beyond luxury. AI recorders grew 347 percent, AI toys rose 202 percent and AI rings climbed 163 percent, according to Tmall data. For an event once defined by discounts, many of the fastest-growing categories carried premium positioning, specialized use cases or entirely new technology. Luxury finds a new role in 618 Luxury brands have historically approached China’s shopping festivals cautiously, wary of the impact aggressive promotions could have on pricing power. This year, many used 618 as a launch platform instead. “China-exclusive” products emerged as a recurring theme. Tiffany & Co., Cartier, Piaget, Qeelin and Tasaki all introduced special editions for the festival. Burberry, Ralph Lauren, Maison Margiela, Omega and Tudor launched Tmall-exclusive products, while Bottega Veneta, Miu Miu, Saint Laurent and Prada introduced new handbag styles. Rather than competing on price, brands are increasingly using high-traffic moments to create scarcity and drive discovery. “The brands that navigated this best were the ones that treated 618 as a brand moment rather than a clearance event,” said Jacob Cook, co-founder and CEO of WPIC. “The most effective approach we observed was gift-with-purchase and limited-edition bundling rather than straight price reduction.” Cook said that luxury and premium beauty brands benefited from a consumer shift toward quality and away from price-led decision making. Brands that maintained pricing discipline during the festival may ultimately be better positioned for the second half of the year than competitors that relied heavily on discounting. AI becomes a consumer category The biggest surprise came from AI hardware. AI hardware emerged as one of the fastest-growing segments across Chinese e-commerce platforms. Sales of AI glasses rose 82 percent and AI earphones climbed 42 percent. The growth reflects how quickly AI has moved from technology concept to consumer product category. AI companion robot brand Fuzozo became a breakout performer by combining conversational AI with plush toy design, tapping demand for both emotional companionship and smart functionality. Productivity-focused products such as AI meeting devices also gained traction as consumers looked for practical applications including real-time translation and automated note-taking. AI was also reshaping the shopping experience itself. “This was the first 618 where AI moved from a supporting feature to the central architecture of the shopping experience,” Cook said. Alibaba’s integration of Qwen into Taobao allows consumers to discover products, compare options and complete purchases through AI conversations. On its merchant side, JD.com reported that more than 70,000 merchants used AI-powered livestreaming tools during the festival. Product discovery on Chinese e-commerce platforms has traditionally been driven by search, recommendations and livestreaming. AI instead rewards brands with clear product descriptions, well-structured information and specific use-case positioning. “We are advising every brand we work with to treat AI optimization as a core part of their China platform strategy, not a future consideration,” he added. Though, not everyone is convinced AI will immediately reshape the competitive landscape. Several brand executives interviewed during the festival described AI as a useful efficiency tool rather than a transformational growth engine. But even skeptics acknowledged that AI is beginning to influence how consumers search for information, compare products and make purchasing decisions. Beauty consumer look for repair and wellness Beauty’s strongest performers this year were not necessarily the products promising dramatic results. They were the products consumers could imagine using every day. Sales of lotions and creams rose 22.4 percent during the festival, while eye-care products increased 26.3 percent , masks climbed 24.3 percent and body-cleansing products gained 20.9 percent. Across social media, discussions increasingly centered on skin barrier repair, gentle formulations and so-called “native skin” aesthetics. Both international and domestic brands benefited. SkinCeuticals, Cetaphil, EviDenS de Beauté, Charlotte Tilbury, Ipsa, La Prairie, Maison Margiela and Prada Beauty all recorded double-digit growth during the first phase of Tmall’s 618 campaign. Estée Lauder and Helena Rubinstein each reported store-livestream growth exceeding 70%, underscoring the growing importance of brand-owned channels. Domestic brands continued to gain ground through innovation rather than price competition. Proya retained its leading position, while Fan Beauty Diary entered the billion-RMB ($148 million) club for the first time and broke into Tmall’s beauty top 20. Off&Relax, the scalp-care brand owned by Proya, grew more than 500% year-on-year. Much of that momentum came from new products. Tmall reported that the number of newly launched products surpassing 10 million RMB ($1.3 million) in sales increased 60 percent from a year earlier, with new launches accounting for one-third of the platform’s top 100 beauty sellers. Sensitive-skincare specialist Winona used 618 to debut its new Barrier Cream exclusively on Tmall, while Tom Ford Beauty launched a limited-edition eyeshadow palette that reportedly generated around 20 percent of category sales during the campaign. Rather than chasing broad positioning, many domestic brands focused on narrower opportunities. Repair-focused skincare, sensitive-skin solutions and specialized formats all benefited from increasingly fragmented demand. Consumers are applying the same logic across categories, spending more readily on products that solve specific problems. Sales of bottle sterilizers rose 65.3% and automatic milk mixers gained 57.1%, while ice-making water dispensers surged 70.1%. What connects those categories is not the price point, but utility. Consumers may be spending more cautiously than in previous years, but they continue to pay for products that fit a clearly defined need. Platforms push beyond price war Platforms themselves also spent much of this year’s 618 trying to move the conversation away from discounts. On June 11, regulators summoned Alibaba, JD.com, Pinduoduo, Douyin and Xiaohongshu over issues including misleading promotions and opaque subsidy practices, reinforcing Beijing’s campaign against so-called “involution-style” competition. “It did signal a healthier promotional environment,” Cook said. “The regulator’s framing was direct: platforms must compete on innovation and service, not on subsidies and price cuts.” JD.com expanded online-to-offline initiatives during the festival, integrating trade-in subsidies, instant retail and physical store participation to drive consumer engagement. Tmall, meanwhile, focused on attracting new brands and products. Between March and May, the number of new brands opening stores on the platform rose 30 percent from the previous period. New entrants ranged from Silicon Valley sleep technology company Eight Sleep to Japanese jeweler Mikimoto, pet-stroller brand AirBuggy and Korean menswear label Wooyoungmi. The Alibaba platform reported that the number of categories producing products with sales exceeding 10 million RMB ($1.3 million) doubled year-on-year, expanding from nine sectors to 12. Breakout products emerged from categories including AI toys, adaptive furniture, premium apparel, elderly pet care and specialized beauty. Several companies also used the festival to test entirely new growth engines. Kodak expanded into fashion through a collaboration with Pop Mart IP Xiaoye, while oral-care company Canban launched household products under its new Poinz label. Rather than relying on existing hero products, brands increasingly treated 618 as a platform for experimentation. Brands and e-commerce titans prioritize returning customers Underlying that strategy is a recognition that China’s e-commerce market has become harder to win through discounting alone. Whether purchasing skincare, baby products or home appliances, consumers are spending more time comparing ingredients, reading reviews and evaluating functionality. The result is a market where differentiation increasingly matters. That may help explain why premium categories continued to perform well. In fashion, mid-premium domestic labels such as Icicle, Fabrique and JNBY ranked among top sellers during the festival. In beauty, products positioned around skin repair, gentle formulations and long-term efficacy outperformed categories traditionally driven by novelty or impulse purchases. For years, 618 generated headlines through record GMV figures and escalating platform competition. This year, conversations increasingly centered on profitability, repeat purchase rates and customer retention. Brands are paying closer attention to whether shoppers return after the promotion ends rather than simply how much they spend during the event itself.

The end of cheap growth: What 618 reveals about China’s consumers

How Bottega Veneta weaved China’s forever it bag

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The end of cheap growth: What 618 reveals about China’s consumers

How Bottega Veneta weaved China’s forever it bag