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China’s 618 Shopping Festival Shows Smaller Package Piles in Chengdu
Residents in Chengdu report fewer delivery parcels this year during the annual retail event used to gauge consumer spending. Platforms and officials ran weeks of promotions and subsidies ahead of the festival.
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Residents in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu have noticed smaller mounds of e-commerce parcels at local delivery stations in the days leading up to the 2026 618 shopping festival. The change marks a departure from recent years when towering stacks of packages signaled the approach of the annual sales event.
Tan Zhaohui, 58, who lives in Chengdu, said the delivery person told her there were not as many packages as before.
She added that people appear to be getting more cautious because the economic environment is not as good as before. The 618 festival has come to be viewed as a barometer for China’s retail sector, with analysts examining platform turnover figures and consumption trends. This year the piles of parcels are noticeably less towering than usual.
Platforms and the government conducted weeks of non-stop promotional campaigns and offered subsidies for a wide range of goods ahead of the festival. Despite those efforts, the biggest takeaway has been a general lack of enthusiasm among consumers.
