China’s Double 12 shopping festival set to boost consumption with trade-in policies

As the annual Double 12 shopping event is unveiled, some major Chinese e-commerce platforms are preparing a range of promotional activities that integrate with the nation's trade-in programs, which are expected to stimulate consumer spending.

Starting at 8 pm on Monday, Tmall has launched more than 100 categories of products, encompassing major appliances, small appliances, home decor, and 3C digital products, all eligible for government subsidies, offering discounts as much as 50 percent, the Global Times learned from the platform on Wednesday.

This year, various local governments across China are offering subsidies on Tmall for consumers purchasing energy-efficient or water-efficient home appliances. Buyers can receive a 20 percent subsidy on first-level efficiency products and a 15 percent subsidy on second-level efficiency products, with a maximum subsidy of 2,000 yuan ($275) per product. Notably, these subsidies apply to both new purchases and trade-ins, according to Tmall.

In addition to existing categories, this round of subsidy programs has expanded to include over 30 new winter-related products, such as heaters, electric hot pots, electric ovens, electric blankets, and goose down quilts, Tmall said.

Seizing the year-end consumption peak, the Chinese e-commerce platform Suning.com has launched its Double 12 event, which covers various categories such as kitchen and bathroom home decoration, winter heating, and 3C digital products.

During the Double 12 period, Suning.com has partnered with major brands, offering discounts of up to 50 percent, the Global Times learned from the platform on Wednesday.

As temperatures drop and many regions experience their first snowfall of the winter, winter products are entering their peak consumption season, Suning.com said.

JD.com is providing offers on popular home appliances at half prices, along with an additional discount of 40 yuan for every 300 yuan spent. Consumers can also take advantage of national subsidies on various appliances, with discounts of up to 2,000 yuan on select items.

Liu Dingding, an internet industry observer, told the Global Times on Wednesday that the Double 12 promotional event, building on the success of Double 11, is beneficial for further stimulating consumption.

During the Double 11 shopping festival, some of China's e-commerce giants reported robust sales by integrating government subsidies with their promotional strategies, effectively stimulating consumer spending.

JD.com said that during the Double 11 shopping festival, its live-streaming sales saw a year-on-year increase of 3.8 times, with over 17,000 brands achieving more than fivefold growth in sales. The number of buyers also rose by more than 20 percent, with up to 30,000 small and medium-sized merchants on the site doubling their sales compared to the previous year.

Tmall said that during the Double 11 shopping event, 589 brands on the platform exceeded 100 million yuan in sales, a year-on-year increase of 46.5 percent.

The implementation of trade-in policies has garnered widespread interest from consumers.

As of December 6, 29.64 million consumers purchased 45.85 million units across eight major appliance categories, generating sales of approximately 201.97 billion yuan, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM).

The rapid growth in sales, exceeding 100 billion yuan in just 79 days and 200 billion yuan in 40 days, underscores the accelerating potential of consumer demand, the MOFCOM said.

Wang Peng, an associate research fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, emphasized that the combination of trade-in policies and government subsidies has significantly stimulated consumer spending.

As the last major shopping event of 2024, Double 12 is expected to unleash substantial consumer spending potential, particularly for seasonal products like home appliances and festive goods, further driving the market as the year draws to a close, Wang told the Global Times on Wednesday.

The MOFCOM has said that it will guide local authorities to capitalize on the peak consumption season at the end of the year, fully leveraging the effects of the home appliance trade-in policy to continuously invigorate the home appliance market and ensure the smooth and orderly implementation of the trade-in program for old appliances.