This Double 11, has the e-commerce industry suddenly felt like it’s back to five years ago?

# The Decline and “Ancestral Return” of Shopping Festivals in China’s E‑commerce

Over the past five years, **large-scale shopping festivals** in China’s retail e‑commerce have steadily lost influence as primary marketing tools. Events like **618** and **Double 11** are no longer dominant traffic drivers — but recent shifts suggest a partial revival.

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## 📉 Trends Since 2022

### 1. Streamlined Reporting
- Since **2022**, platforms have **simplified sales reports** for 618 and Double 11.
- Exact GMV growth rates are often omitted, replaced with **selective category highlights**.

### 2. 618 Loses Ground First
- **2022–2023**: Most platforms **opted out** of aggressive 618 campaigns and stopped detailed reporting.

### 3. Double 11 Decline After 2021 Peak
- Post‑2021: Move toward **“everyday low prices”** rather than one‑day blowouts.

### 4. Consumer Apathy
- **2023 China News Service survey**: 43% of consumers did *not* plan to shop during Double 11, citing **uncompetitive prices** and **overly complex rules**.

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## 🛒 Festival Fatigue

- Recent Double 11 events have lacked buzz — few personal/social discussions.
- Listed companies’ earnings reports show minimal emphasis on these festivals.
- **2024 618** gained slight traction from **government home appliance subsidies**, but overall participant sentiment remained indifferent.

**Industry voices:**
> “Participation this year was far lower than before... Even Douyin’s growth slowed.”

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## 🔄 The 2025 “Ancestral Return” of Double 11

Against predictions of steady decline, **Double 11 is making a notable comeback** in 2025 — platforms seem eager for a final big push this Q4.

### Extended Duration
- All major platforms have **lengthened the Double 11 cycle** (pre‑sale → event end) by 2–10 days compared with last year.

Approx. durations:  
- **Taobao/Tmall**: 31 days  
- **Xiaohongshu**: 32 days  
- **Pinduoduo**: 30 days  
- **JD.com**: 36 days  
- **Kwai**: 34 days  
- **Douyin**: 33 days  

**Earliest start**: Kwai (Oct 7)  
**Latest start**: Pinduoduo (Oct 16)  
**Note**: Douyin’s pre‑sale (Oct 9) practically overlapped its Mid‑Autumn campaigns (Sept 16) — creating an unusually long cycle.

### Rules: Simplification vs Complexity
Two narratives emerged:
1. **Simplified Playbooks** – With **official instant discounts**, single‑item deals require no bundling.
2. **Complexity Persists** – Traditional coupon stacking and bundles still confuse consumers.

**Reality**: Instant discounts help, but legacy mechanics remain.

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## 📊 Platforms’ Revival Tactics

- **Selective data releases**: Expect “total reports” post‑event; stage reports mainly highlight positives.
- **More frequent stage reports**: Higher than both mid‑year 618 and last year’s Double 11 — some platforms already issued 5+ with 15 days remaining.
- **Gala resurgence**:
  - First gala: **Tmall 2015**.
  - 2024 nearly saw galas disappear — JD.com & Pinduoduo skipped for two years; rumors Tmall/Douyin might cancel.
  - This year: Gala momentum rivals 2020.
    - **Taobao/Tmall**, **Douyin** confirmed.
    - **JD.com** revived “JD 11.11 Surprise Night”.
    - **Kuaishou** announced “Double 11 Carnival Night”.
    - **Pinduoduo**, **Xiaohongshu**, **WeChat Channels** yet to announce — possible last‑minute surprises.

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## 🧐 Is This a True Comeback or Just a Flashback?

Two recent “retro” phenomena in traditional internet sectors:
- **Food delivery wars** (like 2019–2020)
- **Double 11 revival** pre‑2021 style

**Key question**: Temporary spike or new normal?  
We’ll know early next year when **Q4 earnings reports** reveal actual revenue/profit results.

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## 💡 Beyond Festivals: Year‑Round Monetization

Platforms and creators are embracing **continuous engagement models** instead of relying solely on seasonal sales.

Example: **[AiToEarn官网](https://aitoearn.ai/)**  
- **Open‑source global AI content monetization platform**.
- Helps creators **generate, publish, and monetize AI content** across multiple social/e‑commerce channels:
  - Douyin, Kwai, WeChat, Bilibili, Xiaohongshu, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, YouTube, Pinterest, X/Twitter.
- Integrates:
  - AI content generation tools
  - Cross‑platform publishing
  - Analytics
  - **AI model rankings** ([AI模型排名](https://rank.aitoearn.ai))
- Supports consistent income streams **beyond 618 and Double 11**.

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![image](https://blog.aitoearn.ai/content/images/2025/11/img_002-68.jpg)

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## 📚 Recommended Reading

[![image](https://blog.aitoearn.ai/content/images/2025/11/img_003-61.jpg)](https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MjM5OTEwNjI2MA==&mid=2651914849&idx=1&sn=4334ae5075cf3ab3087635bbe7f07a4a&scene=21#wechat_redirect)  
[![image](https://blog.aitoearn.ai/content/images/2025/11/img_004-58.jpg)](https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MjM5OTEwNjI2MA==&mid=2651911786&idx=1&sn=52b10764432362e049f37569e31cd58c&scene=21#wechat_redirect)  
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