IN THE West the shopping calendar is organised around the birthday of Jesus Christ. In China it is shaped by the birthday of JD.com. That giant e-commerce firm, established on June 18th 1998, introduced the “618” shopping festival in honour of its founding. The festival offers discounts and other enticements to shoppers in the run-up to the big day. But just as Christmas decorations seem to appear earlier each year, the 618 festival keeps starting sooner. This year’s promotion began on May 13th, a week earlier than in 2024.
The Economist
