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Alibaba's Taobao and Tmall Group did not respond to a request for comment. This year's Singles Day event is also the first since Alibaba Group split into six business units. This view is supported by recent polls on social media where the majority of respondents said Singles Day was no longer necessary. Meara He, a 21-year-old student from Wenzhou, says she often shops using Douyin live-streams and this year, "doesn't care" about Singles Day as much. "In the past I would wait for Double 11 (Singles Day) and do some shopping, but this time I just plan to buy products that I need," she said.

Persons: Alibaba, Pinduoduo, Josh Gardner, Alibaba's, Ashley Dudarenok, AlixPartners, Douyin, Melody Zhao, Casey, Sophie Yu, Brenda Goh Organizations: PDD Holdings, Kungfu, Tmall, Administration, Market, ByteDance, Alibaba, Suisse, Industry, Hua Gui Food Group, Casey Hall, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, HK, China, Wenzhou, Shanghai, Beijing

[1/3] Tourists rest on the Bund ahead of the National Day holiday, in Shanghai, China September 26, 2023. China celebrates the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day from Friday to Oct. 6 in the longest public holiday this year. The China Tourism Academy, part of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, estimates people will make more than 100 million trips a day during "the most popular Golden Week in history". In 2019, mainland Chinese tourists spent $255 billion abroad, more than any other nationality, with group tours estimated to account for roughly 60% of that total. ($1 = 7.3030 Chinese yuan renminbi)Additional reporting by Wang Tao in Singapore; Editing by Marius Zaharia and Miral FahmyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Aly, It's, Joe Zhang, I'm, haven't, Boon Sian Chai, Boon, Cao, Nancy Dai, Zhou Weihong, Wang Zheng, Wang Tao, Marius Zaharia Organizations: Bund, REUTERS, Rights, China Tourism Academy, Ministry of Culture, Trip.com, Spring, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, Beijing, Japan, Tourism, Anqing, Anhui, South Korea, United States, ForwardKeys, Thailand, Singapore

Travellers walk past an installation in the shape of five stars, at Beijing Daxing International Airport in Beijing, China April 24, 2023. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/file photoBEIJING, Aug 10 (Reuters) - China has lifted pandemic-era restrictions on group tours for more countries, including key markets such as the United States, Japan, South Korea and Australia in a potential boon for their tourism industries. Just how much outbound Chinese tourism will bounce back for the latest group of countries remains to be seen. Shares in firms in the latest group of countries with large exposure to Chinese travel demand jumped on the news. China has never publicly acknowledged limiting group tours to South Korea.

Persons: Tingshu Wang, Fumio Kishida, Don Farrell, Steve Saxon, Casey, Sophie Yu, Joyce Lee, Jamie Freed, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: Beijing Daxing International, REUTERS, Japanese, Trade, Tourism, Weibo, McKinsey & Co, South, Grand Korea, Reuters, Casey Hall, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, BEIJING, United States, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Germany, Britain, Canada, Thailand, Russia, Cuba, Argentina, Nepal, France, Portugal, Brazil, Xinjiang, South Korean, U.S, Shanghai, Seoul

The Chinese e-commerce giant saw sales rise 6-8% over the 618 festival period that ran from late May through to Sunday evening, according to a client note from Citi analysts. The festival, named after the founding date of JD.com but embraced by all e-commerce platforms, is a key barometer of Chinese consumer spending. JD.com has said it will not release its GMV for the festival period this year, only noting that sales hit a record - a milestone which was expected. Alibaba has also stopped releasing GMV figures for the so-called Singles Day shopping festival period in November in the face of slowing sales. Goldman Sachs analysts said in a client note that JD.com sales during 618 "slightly" exceeded expectations, while Jefferies analysts said the event "surpassed expectations and set new records."

Persons: brokerages, Syntun, Alibaba, JD.com, Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, Casey, Sophie Yu, Edwina Gibbs, Susan Fenton Organizations: HK, Citi, Alibaba, PDD Holdings, Casey Hall, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, Shanghai, Beijing

SHANGHAI, June 19 (Reuters) - Sales on JD.com (9618.HK) e-commerce site during China's mid-year shopping festival - the first major shopping event since country's reopening - grew more than expected, brokerages said. JD.com saw sales rise 6-8% over the 618 festival period that ran from late May through to Sunday evening, according to a client note from Citi analysts. Alibaba has also stopped releasing GMV figures for the so-called Singles Day shopping festival period in November in the face of slowing sales. The festival period this year was marked by fierce competition, with platforms offering billions of yuan in coupons and subsidies to entice Chinese consumers to spend. Goldman Sachs analysts said in a client note said JD.com sales during 618 "slightly" exceeded expectations, while Jefferies analysts said the event "surpassed expectations and set new records."

Persons: brokerages, JD.com, Alibaba, Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, Casey, Sophie Yu, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: HK, Citi, Casey Hall, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, Shanghai, Beijing

[1/5] People wait for bus near a billboard of JD.com advertisement for the "618" shopping festival, in Beijing, China June 12, 2023. Retail sales growth in May slowed from the previous month, missing forecasts. In 2022 China's online retail sales amounted to 13.8 trillion yuan ($1.93 trillion), according to Ministry of Commerce data. "Everyone's making excuses but at the end of the day, it's a super-soft retail market." Last year, JD.com posted 10% annual growth in total 618 sales, its slowest ever.

Persons: Tingshu Wang, Josh Gardner, JD.com, Trudy Dai, Jason Yu, Kantar, Yu, Iris Zhang, Gardner, Data, Casey Hall, Sophie Yu, Marius Zaharia Organizations: REUTERS, HK, of Commerce, Kungfu, Burberry, Apple, Alibaba, Jefferies, Citi, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, SHANGHAI, Tmall

Starbucks (SBUX.O) warned of a "cautious" recovery in its China sales. "Consumers have become more meticulous in their spending," its chief executive, Xu Lei, said in an earnings call on Thursday. "Now the Chinese tourists are either super rich or very poor," said the owner, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "This suggests that once the initial reopening rebound has happened, we shouldn't expect a further surge in consumer spending," he wrote in a note to clients. ($1 = 6.8780 Chinese yuan renminbi)Editing by Marius Zaharia and Bradley PerrettOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/2] Camden Hauge, who owns the Egg cafe, poses in her cafe in central Shanghai, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Shanghai, China, November 16, 2022. Their Lost Plate company, which has been hosting food tours in several Chinese cities since 2015, will instead veer to Southeast Asia. With COVID outbreaks getting worse, it is unlikely that China's economy can shift into a higher gear in the near term. Local authorities in some Chinese cities eased restrictions, while others tightened. At its core, the problem reflects authorities' failure to prioritise the interests of consumers, who are often the punching bag in China's investment-driven economy.

[1/4] A delivery worker sorts parcels at a makeshift logistics station ahead of Alibaba's Singles' Day shopping festival, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Shanghai, China, November 10, 2022. REUTERS/Aly SongSHANGHAI, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Alibaba Group Holding (9988.HK) and other Chinese e-commerce firms holding Singles Day shopping events together logged a 4.7% decline in sales for the first 12 hours of the final day, a research firm said. Citi analysts said this week they were conservatively forecasting Alibaba's GMV for the event to range between 545 billion yuan and 560 billion yuan ($75 billion-$77 billion), growth of 0.9% to 3.6%. Yang Zengdong, 40, a teacher in Shanghai, said she had second thoughts about participating in Singles Day at all this year, but when the final sales period started on Thursday evening, she ended up purchasing about the same amount as last year. "I think it's something deep in the mind of Chinese people that if you don't buy on Singles Day, you are missing out on an opportunity," she said.

[1/4] A delivery worker sorts parcels at a makeshift logistics station ahead of Alibaba's Singles' Day shopping festival, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Shanghai, China, November 10, 2022. REUTERS/Aly SongSHANGHAI, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Alibaba Group Holding (9988.HK) and other Chinese e-commerce firms holding Singles Day shopping events together logged a 4.7% decline in sales for the first half of the final day, a research firm said. Chinese consultancy Syntun said it was estimating a combined 223 billion yuan ($31 billion) for the 12-hour time period. The Singles Day shopping festival, which despite its name has evolved into a multi-week event, is a key barometer of Chinese retail demand. Citi analysts said this week they were conservatively forecasting Alibaba's gross merchandise value (GMV) for the event to range between 545 billion yuan and 560 billion yuan ($75-77 billion), growth of 0.9% to 3.6%.

An advertisement promoting Alibaba's Singles' Day shopping festival is pictured, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Shanghai, China, October 22, 2022. Sweaty Betty China Vice President Lexie Morris told Reuters the active-wear brand would use only "one or two" livestream hosts this Singles Day season and that it was starting to work with much smaller and more sports-focused livestreamers. Analysts expect to see another year of slowing sales overall this Singles Day, dampened by a slowing economy and China's zero-COVID-19 policy. In June, Alibaba rival JD.com Inc (9618.HK) also recorded its slowest-ever sales growth for 618, China's second-largest shopping festival after Singles Day. "Instead of a traffic-driven model, Taobao Live helps merchants grow their businesses sustainably," it said.

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