China's 618 Shopping Festival sales growth slows to 4%

The 618 mid‑year shopping festival in China generated about 934 billion yuan (≈US$138 billion) in gross merchandise value (GMV) from May 13 to June 18, according to retail data firm Syntun and Reuters reporter Tingshu Wang.

Year‑on‑year growth fell to 4 % this edition, sharply down from a 15.2 % increase in the prior year. The event, run on major platforms such as JD.com and Alibaba’s Tmall, displayed noticeably weaker consumer enthusiasm.