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Alibaba sales for 618 shopping festival rise with growing appetite for camping, fishing goods

  • Alibaba reported positive sales growth for the shopping festival, with camping, fishing and skateboarding as stand-out categories
  • JD.com also reported positive but slowing sales growth for the festival this year as Covid-19 restrictions weigh on consumer confidence

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Sales of camping, fishing and skateboarding products jumped on Tmall during the 618 shopping festival this year, Alibaba said, but Covid-19 restrictions have hit e-commerce growth overall. Photo: Shutterstock
Tracy Qu
Alibaba Group Holding reported positive year-on-year gross merchandise volume growth for the midyear 618 shopping festival, with fishing and camping goods gaining popularity among young Chinese consumers.
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Among consumers born after 1995, three million purchased fishing equipment on Alibaba’s e-commerce platforms Taobao Marketplace and Tmall in the year through June 15, according to the company. During the first “checkout period” from May 31 to June 3, which allowed consumers to complete payments for goods that are part of the shopping festival, fishing equipment sales increased nearly 50 per cent year on year, Alibaba said in a statement.

Young Chinese consumers have also come to favour camping as a complementary activity to fishing. During the same checkout period, Tmall sales of camping-related products – including tents, canopies and folding tables – tripled year on year, according to the company.

Trudy Dai, president of core domestic e-commerce at Alibaba, said she saw “a number of new consumption trends that spotlighted new brands and products for consumers, including camping, health and wellness and leisure lifestyle”.

Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.

Fishing and camping were not the only outdoor activities to get a boost this year. Tmall sales of skateboarding products increased 290 per cent during the first shopping window of the 618 festival, according to Alibaba.

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Smart home devices for pets were also popular, rising nearly 150 per cent year on year for the period. Among the most popular of these products were smart companion robots, automatic feeders and self-cleaning litter boxes.

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