SHANGHAI: China’s Singles’ Day sales festival is coming to a close after more than a month of promotions on the country’s largest e-commerce platforms, which failed to spark widespread consumer excitement during the world’s largest shopping event.
Consumer malaise in China, stemming from a prolonged property crisis and concerns about income security, has made it harder than ever to get people to open their wallets.
In response, retailers have become more aggressive about year-round discounting, rolled out billions of yuan in consumer subsidies and coupons and elongated sales events.