China celebrates the International Women’s Day on 8th March. The original way of celebrating has slightly changed over the years and especially in the e-commerce era.
It is the first shopping holiday after the Chinese New Year and this year it coincided with the coronavirus outbreak in China – almost everyone working and shopping from home, while cities were on complete lockdown.
At the beginning of March Tmall Global (cross-border e-commerce) indicated a growth of sales of 52% year-on-year, meaning that the demand for imported goods hasn’t changed during the outbreak. On Women’s Day, Tmall saw personal care categories driving sales. In the food category, sales of instant and prepared foods jumped 724%. Healthy food and snacks also saw more sales consumers continue to focus more and more on healthy living.
JD.com reported that Women’s Day sales reflected a 97% year-on-year sales increase for beauty and cosmetics items. This number means a lot giving the fact that JD has been struggling with attracting female consumers in the past. Aside from beauty, top categories for women included food and snacks, chocolate and candy, pet care, and medical-related products.
Women’s Day is often considered a good barometer for sales as it’s the first major holiday for e-commerce after Chinese New Year ends. The numbers from this year are quite promising especially considering the circumstances. In the next months, a lot more online shopping holidays are coming which is always an opportunity for foreign brands to boost their sales in China. If would like to learn more about the possibilities of cross-border e-commerce in China, feel free to contact us at info@brand.house