Expert Call Takeaways: AI and Merchants Profitability the Focus in 618 Campaign

Research evidence excerpt

Expert Call Takeaways: AI and Merchants Profitability the Focus in 618 Campaign

China (PRC) | Internet EquityJuneResearch8, 2026

Expert Call Takeaways: AI and Merchants

Profitability the Focus in 618 Campaign

Highlights from expert call: (1) merchants shifting KPI from GMV to

profitability; (2) AI is the focus to understand consumer preferences; (3) low

price strategy is not the only success factor in 618. More existing and new

requirements need to be followed by merchants such as e-commerce tax;

(4) top hosts environment in live streaming e-commerce is different vs prior

years; (5) On 618, expert expects industry GMV to see slight YoY growth

this year.

We hosted an expert call with Wen Li, CEO of Foshan Yujie Information, on the 618 campaign.

AI is the focus. Mr. Li sees 618 as transitioning from price wars to emphasis on operations

and ecosystem this year. AI plays a more important role this year for data insights and

understanding consumers preferences. Similar to last year, we view marketing tactics remain

straightforward and simple to enhance user experience.

Merchant emphasis on profitability. Mr. Li views merchants shifting KPI from GMV to

profitability and does not see merchants having notable increase in sales. Large brands use AI

to streamline operations. Brands have been in compliance with tax rules and not affected by

ecommerce tax last year. About 70% of the brands Mr. Li communicated with said profitability

is important.

Low price strategy not the only success factor in 618. Mr. Li considers low price strategies

may not be as effective compared to prior years. Competitive pricing is applied across

platforms and pricing is monitored by brands. There are more existing and new requirements

that need to be followed by merchants such as ecommerce tax.