China's muted Singles' Day shopping fest expects slow growth

HONG KONG (AP) — China’s biggest online shopping festival, known as Singles’ Day, is typically an extravagant affair as Chinese e-commerce firms like Alibaba and JD.com ramp up marketing campaigns and engage top livestreamers to hawk everything from lipstick to furniture as they race to break sales records of previous years.

This year, however, the shopping festival is a much quieter event, with sales numbers expected to grow more slowly as consumers tighten their wallets amid an uncertain economy and the ongoing impact of COVID-19.

Singles’ Day — also known as Double 11 as it falls on Nov. 11 annually — is typically closely watched as a barometer of consumption in China, as consumers collectively spend billions on online shopping platforms and merchants offer attractive discounts and promotions.

Following a government-led crackdown on China's technology industry last year, coupled with an economic slowdown and COVID-19 outbreaks, e-commerce companies have shifted their focus this year away from massive sales growth and high-profile marketing campaigns.