This year’s 6.18 showed that there is no age limit when it comes to consumers wanting to look and feel their very best. An analysis of shopping carts revealed that younger consumers in China were increasingly embracing healthy lifestyles by reconnecting with the great outdoors. For example, glamping-related products, from tents to artisanal coffees and beers, soared in popularity during the festival. Fishing also reeled in the post-90s and post-95s generations, with the festival seeing many shoppers under the age of 25 buying the gear for this outdoor activity.

Meanwhile, young male shoppers have shown a keen eye for beauty, and from June 1-17 they helped drive a 40% YoY increase in sales for men’s cosmetics, with hot-selling products including foundations, mascaras, eyebrow pencils and shadows, among others. The pursuit of beauty, however, was not restricted to younger generations. For the first three days of the festival, the number of orders for hair-removal devices placed on Tmall Global by silver-generation consumers – that is, those over the age of 55 – increased 84% compared to the same period last year.

Indeed, the rapid development and improved inclusivity of the digital economy, coupled with the effects of the pandemic, have led older consumers to increasingly turn to e-commerce for their day-to-day needs. From June 1 to 3, the number of imported health products purchased by the over-55 demographic increased 31% YoY.

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