China's leading e-commerce companies, from JD.com to Alibaba Group Holdingin a rush to take advantage of Beijing's latest subsidies aimed at boosting consumer spending at the start of the year.
Tmall, Alibaba's main shopping site with mostly established brands, on Wednesday started new subsidies for customers buying home appliances.
Rival JD.com on the same day launched a similar campaign that would allow consumers in some provinces including Hubei, Hunan and Jiangsu to buy eligible home appliances using government subsidies.
Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP knowledgeour new platform of curated content with explanations, FAQs, analysis and graphics brought to you by our award-winning team.
The South China Morning Post is owned by Alibaba.
The two platforms are among the earliest to join the central government's revamped programme, as they engage in a heated battle with fast-rising e-commerce rivals such as PDD Holdings' Pain and ByteDanceand Douyin to attract users.
Alibaba and rival JD.com face stiff competition from younger e-commerce players such as PDD Holdings and ByteDance. Photo: Shutterstock Images alt=Alibaba and rival JD.com face stiff competition from younger e-commerce players such as PDD Holdings and ByteDance. Photo: Shutterstock Images>
China introduced last year home appliance trade-in schemeoffers a discount of up to 2,000 yuan (US$274) per item to all local consumers. Eligible products include refrigerators, washing machines, televisions, air conditioners, computers, water heaters, household stoves, and range hoods.
The renewed program in 2025 allows users who wanted a subsidy last year to get new discounts. Policymakers plan to expand the scope of eligible items to consumer electronic devices, such as smartphones, tablets and smart portables, according to an official from the National Development and Reform Commission on Friday.
The project is part of Beijing's broader efforts to boost spending and stimulate the economy. As households locked away more of their savings in bank deposits, retail sales in China saw just a 3 percent year-on-year rise in November, marking the slowest pace of growth in three months. according to the latest official data.
Property investment continued to slow, falling 10.4 percent in the first 11 months.
When the trade-in program was introduced in 2024, Tmall and JD.com were also among the first e-commerce platform operators to quickly launch dedicated landing pages, make it easier for customers to check product listings and use the subsidies when placing orders. .
