Shoppers throng online platforms for deals

Consumer enthusiasm for online shopping was visible once again during this year's June 18 shopping carnival, as major e-commerce players drummed up promotions to boost consumption recovery and shore up an economy hit hard by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

JD, which initiated the midyear promotional event that officially kicked off on June 1, said its sales reached a staggering 239.2 billion yuan ($33.8 billion) by 2 pm on Thursday, exceeding the 201.5 billion yuan a year ago. The figure continued to climb through the rest of the day.

The company said sales on JD Super－its online supermarket－increased 500 percent in the first 10 minutes on June 18, compared with the same period last year, with more than 2,000 brands seeing their transaction volume jump 100 percent year-on-year.