Taobao 618 Mid Year Shopping Festival (2021): Why you shouldn't miss this mega sale

Reward yourself for making it this far through the year with a Taobao 618 shopping spree happening this June!

There are four key Taobao shopping festivals that all bargain-hunters have marked down on their calendar — 3.8 Women’s Day, 11.11 Singles’ Day, 12.12 Shopping Madness and of course, the Taobao 618 Mid Year Shopping Festival.

If you’re completely new to Taobao, you might want to take a quick peek at our ultimate guide to Taobao shopping. Otherwise, keep scrolling for a comprehensive all-you-need-know guide to the June festival.

Looking back: Taobao 618 Mid Year Shopping Festival 2020

Quality goods but slashed down to be made more affordable for the masses? Yes, please! That’s the new perception of China merchandise, and Tmall accounts for approximately one-third of 2020’s brand merchants’ e-commerce sales. China Internet Watch reported a whopping 16.91 trillion yuan ( S$3.3 trillion) worth of transactions across the platform during last year’s 618 Mid Year Shopping Festival — up 42 per cent from 2019!

Why should you buy during Taobao 618 Mid Year Shopping Festival?

According to Business Wire, Taobao 618 was a combined effort by Taobao and Tmall to empower brands and merchants to tap into China’s less-developed regions that account for nearly 70 per cent of China’s total population. It’s during this shopping festival that stores on those two e-commerce platforms slash their prices up to half off.

However, most consumers are here to snatch their daily exclusive vouchers and red packets that will be unleashed with treasures that include cash rewards! Make sure to shop with the Taobao App to score free shipping!

What products are on sale during Taobao 618?

Taobao 618 was initially catered for shoppers from rural parts of China looking for a lifestyle upgrade but who were unable to get physical access. Thus, you can expect to find discounts on mid to high tier brands here. Think Apple, Nike, Lancome, branded handbags, snacks and more!

When is Taobao 618 happening?

As told by China Internet Watch, huge discounts will be launched from June 1 to June 20 — from 20 yuan off every 300 yuan purchase, additional 520 yuan discounts for members to cheaper-than-duty-free prices for beauty products! The main event will be launched from midnight on June 13 till June 18, 11.59pm.

How to shop the Taobao 618 Mid Year Shopping Festival?

When registering for a Taobao account, before keying in your mobile number, just remember to tap on “+86” to change your country code — look for “新加坡 +65” (Singapore) in the list of countries and territories.

To shop, simply enter keywords into their search bar and filter your search results by tapping 'Filter'. 

Three different types of promotions to look out for

There are three main segments to the Taobao 618 Mid Year Shopping Festival. The first is the GSS Kick-Off Sale which begins on June 1 and ends on June 3 — get ready to snatch red packets daily at 12 noon!

The rest of the days leading up to the main event would consist of merchant-specific sales. We recommend you pop over each day to stay on top of the various discounts. Last but not least, would be the Zhifubao sale which is essentially Taobao’s version of an e-wallet. Be sure to sign up for it in advance to take advantage of the discounts!

Shop more with Taobao’s free shipping zone

When shopping Taobao 618, remember to shop in their free shipping zone to get certain products straight to your doorstep for free!

Take note that there’s usually a minimum spend of 299 yuan for products within this Free Shipping Zone section that you need to meet to qualify. However, it is the best way to ship heavy and bulky items from China over to Singapore for free — that may cost a bomb due to its actual or volumetric weight otherwise.

Score upsized savings during Taobao 618!

The first way to maximise your Taobao shopping festival experience is by scoring cashback with Shopback . Once you have created accounts on both Shopback and Taobao, download the Shopback extension.

Look out for the search bar that will automatically appear on the top right portion of your browser. Just remember to empty your cart of any prior items before clicking through to ShopBack — thereafter, simply search for what you need on Taobao and shop to get cash rewards!

When checking out, you will be redirected to Alipay — do note that payment must be made on a desktop for you to pay in CNY. 

This article was first published in YouTrip.