E-commerce giants are jumping on China’s latest e-commerce platform amid fierce competition
China’s biggest e-commerce companies, from JD.com to Alibaba Group Holding, are scrambling to take advantage of Beijing’s latest subsidies aimed at boosting consumer spending at the start of the year.
Tmall, Alibaba’s premium shopping site that carries popular brands, on Wednesday started a new promotion for consumers buying home appliances.
Rival JD.com on the same day launched a similar campaign allowing shoppers in other provinces including Hubei, Hunan and Jiangsu to buy eligible household appliances using government subsidies.
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Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.
Both platforms are among the first to join the central government’s exchange program, as they battle it out with fast-growing e-commerce rivals such as PDD Holdings’ Pinduoduo and ByteDance’s Douyin to attract buyers.
Alibaba and rival JD.com face stiff competition from smaller e-commerce players such as PDD Holdings and ByteDance. Image: Shutterstock Images alt=Alibaba and rival JD.com face stiff competition from smaller e-commerce players like PDD Holdings and ByteDance. Image: Shutterstock Images>
China last year launched its home goods trade-in program, offering each local buyer a discount of up to 2,000 yuan (US$274) per item. Eligible products include refrigerators, washing machines, televisions, air conditioners, computers, water heaters, domestic stoves, and various hoods.
The renewed program in 2025 enables consumers who have already claimed subsidies in the previous year to receive new discounts. Policymakers are planning to expand the range of items eligible for consumer electronics, such as smartphones, tablet computers and smart wearables, according to a Development and Reform Commission official on Friday.
The project is part of Beijing’s broader efforts to stimulate spending and boost the economy. As households put more cash into the bank, retail sales in China rose 3 percent year-on-year in November, marking the slowest pace of growth in three months, according to the latest official data.
Property investment continued to struggle, falling 10.4 percent in the first 11 months.
When the 2024 exchange program was launched, Tmall and JD.com were also among the e-commerce platform operators to quickly launch special landing pages, making it easy for consumers to browse the product list and use the promotion when placing orders. .
