According to a research report from CLSA, data from third-party monitoring agency Syntun estimates that the total Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) for China's major e-commerce platforms during this year's 618 shopping festival grew by only about 1% year-on-year to approximately RMB 836.6 billion. This represents a significant slowdown from the roughly 15% growth recorded last year.

During the same period, the GMV for the new retail sector, which includes instant delivery services, surged by 112% year-on-year to RMB 62.8 billion.

The report cites industry experts noting that the sales environment for this year's 618 festival was challenging. Platforms such as Douyin and PDD Holdings Inc (PDD.US) continued to outperform their peers, with GMV growth between 20% and 30% year-on-year. This performance is attributed to more proactive merchant support and category expansion efforts.

Taobao/Tmall also recorded positive GMV growth. CLSA maintains a cautious view on China's e-commerce sector overall, expressing a preference for Alibaba (BABA.US, 09988) due to the upside potential seen in its AI and cloud computing businesses.