“As a result, [JD has] won users, they have won orders and the tailwind is helping them not only during the pandemic, but also … after the pandemic,” Dai said.
Ling called the pandemic “a double-edged sword.”
Covid-19 helped the company grow sales in medical supplies, fresh produce and daily necessities, the JD executive said, but demand in other categories was severely impacted, such as home appliances and other big ticket items.
Because the rest of the world is still fighting Covid-19, domestic consumption will be key to China’s economic recovery. And early numbers for June indicate that Chinese shoppers are eager to spend.
‘618’ sales up nearly 20%
Demand for fresh groceries surged, with sales more than tripling over last year. On Thursday afternoon, with a few hours left in the “618” event, JD said sales had topped 239 billion yuan ($33.8 billion), up nearly 19% over last year.
At least one of JD’s rivals is also seeing positive trends. An Alibaba spokesman said on Monday that categories such as pet snacks, beauty tools and health check devices were showing “high triple-digit growth this year” so far. Pinduoduo did not respond to requests for comment.
The Chinese government has also latched on to “618” in an effort to spur domestic consumption. Beijing offered government-sponsored coupons to JD users, who could use them to get discounts on items like home appliances or furniture. City mayors used live-streaming to sell local fruits and vegetables.