Ecommerce platforms spend big on 618 shopping festival
Competition fierce in 39;supersoft39; retail market analyst
China39;s economy loses steam as consumption struggles to take off

SHANGHAI, June 16 Reuters China39;s ecommerce platforms are competing fiercely in the country39;s first major shopping festival after the pandemic, offering steep discounts to entice frugal consumers in more worrying signs for an economy struggling to build momentum.

The 618 festival, named after the founding date of JD.com but embraced by all platforms and running from late May until June 18, is a key test of household consumption appetite, vital to bring China39;s growth on a sounder footing.

This year, JD.com, Tmall, Pinduoduo and others are investing billions of yuan in subsidies and incentives to keep gross sales growing, in what analysts interpret as subdued confidence among the platforms and shoppers.

This bodes ill for China39;s postpandemic recovery, which is already losing steam. Retail sales growth in May slowed from the previous month, missing forecasts.

In 2022 China39;s online retail sales amounted to 13.8 trillion yuan 1.93 trillion, according to Ministry of Commerce data. Official data also underscored the importance of the broader retail sector, which had overall sales of 44 trillion last year, nearly a third of the country39;s annual economic output.

There39;s all these massive incentives between platforms to fight for market share during the event, which has…