China's Singles Day sales rise 4.8% to 1.78 trillion yuan; AI takes larger role
FXI•Sales during China's Singles Day shopping festival rose 4.8% year over year to 1.78 trillion yuan ($267 billion), Syntun estimated. Growth slowed from 14.2% last year as platforms used AI tools to promote products and shopping.
1. Sales growth slows
Sales across major e-commerce platforms during the October 7 to November 11 promotion period reached an estimated 1.78 trillion yuan, up 4.8% from a year earlier. The increase compared with 14.2% growth during last year's festival.
2. AI products gain ground
JD.com said it sold more than 50 million AI-related products and generated more than 300 million service orders during the campaign. Transaction value for AI PCs, workstations, cameras, glasses and recording devices more than doubled year over year, while sales of large-language-model token packages rose more than tenfold.
3. Longer promotional season
The event has expanded from a single day into a weeks-long promotion, with platforms using subsidies, discounts, livestreaming and AI-enabled shopping tools. Consumer confidence remained subdued amid a prolonged property downturn, weak income expectations and job insecurity. Analyst Liu Xingliang said the extended sales period has diminished the urgency of grabbing deals on one night.
