618 – Mo’ Data
The 618 Chinese shopping holiday was a good one for the TV space, at least for the first 20 days for which we have confirmed data. During that period 937,000 TVs were sold, up 32.1% y/y in units and up 34.2% y/y in sales. Much of the strength can be attributed to the Chinese government’s “New for Old” subsidy policy, although we are also hearing the local subsidies that have been an integral part of the policy, have been dwindling in some regions (Henan, Chongqing, Jiangsu & Guangdong were mentioned) as funding becomes harder to come by and restrictions to keep retailers from arbitraging the regional differences were implemented, with some local governments adding temporary pauses or quotas to reduce funding.
It should be noted that the 618 holiday this year ran (including pre-sales) for 42 days while last year for 29, so we are suspect as to the validity of the y/y figures, but the posted GMV is said to be up 15.2% y/y, with Tmall (BABA) representing ~50% of that value and JD.com (JD) roughly 19%. In the CE space Alibaba reported a 283% y/y increase in ‘subsidy-eligible’ electronics and appliances, while JD.com saw a mind-bending 380% y/y increase in the same category during the first hour of the initial advertising campaign. Appliances were the biggest sellers in the CE space followed by smartphones, which were up ~8% y/y, albeit for the extended period, with Apple (AAPL) the smartphone volume leader (iPhone 16 Pro & Pro Max).
As previously noted Apple was heavily discounted this year during the holiday and pre-holiday, with initial pricing of 7,999 yuan ($1,113) discounted down to 5,400 yuan ($765) after subsides. Xiaomi (1810.HK) would up in 2nd place, with Huawei (pvt) and Vivo (pvt) following. All in, subsidies were a big part of this year’s 618 holiday and in some cases accounted for as much as 40% of the discount off original pricing, and when looking at the yearly comparisons its important to note that the daily average GMV for 2024 was 25.61b RMB while the daily average GMV for 2025 was 20.37b RMB, 20.5% lower than last year.
Bits
It should be noted that the 618 holiday this year ran (including pre-sales) for 42 days while last year for 29, so we are suspect as to the validity of the y/y figures, but the posted GMV is said to be up 15.2% y/y, with Tmall (BABA) representing ~50% of that value and JD.com (JD) roughly 19%. In the CE space Alibaba reported a 283% y/y increase in ‘subsidy-eligible’ electronics and appliances, while JD.com saw a mind-bending 380% y/y increase in the same category during the first hour of the initial advertising campaign. Appliances were the biggest sellers in the CE space followed by smartphones, which were up ~8% y/y, albeit for the extended period, with Apple (AAPL) the smartphone volume leader (iPhone 16 Pro & Pro Max).
As previously noted Apple was heavily discounted this year during the holiday and pre-holiday, with initial pricing of 7,999 yuan ($1,113) discounted down to 5,400 yuan ($765) after subsides. Xiaomi (1810.HK) would up in 2nd place, with Huawei (pvt) and Vivo (pvt) following. All in, subsidies were a big part of this year’s 618 holiday and in some cases accounted for as much as 40% of the discount off original pricing, and when looking at the yearly comparisons its important to note that the daily average GMV for 2024 was 25.61b RMB while the daily average GMV for 2025 was 20.37b RMB, 20.5% lower than last year.
Bits
RSS Feed