Xia Yuanjie szrbgracexia@126.com CONSUMERS didn’t hesitate to loosen the purse strings during this year’s 618 online promotion, a month-long shopping extravaganza initiated by e-commerce platform JD.com, with several brands reporting sales exceeding 100 million yuan (US$14.9 million) immediately after it kicked off at 8:00 p.m. Tuesday. Consumer electronics and home appliances were the top sought-after items, according to JD’s data. Apple and Xiaomi had garnered more than 100 million yuan in smartphone sales within one second after the event began. A total of 11 merchants, including four Shenzhen companies such as Huawei and ZTE, saw their mobile phone sales increase by 200% from a year ago. Sales of high-end laptops and tablet computers surged by 177% and 100%, respectively, from a year ago. Consumer spending on medium- and high-level home appliances increased by more than eight times, compared with the same period last year. Sales of portable power banks surged by 57 times year on year. At-home test items were also popular. Orders for COVID-19 rapid antigen testing kits and testing kits for HPV and gastrointestinal diseases rose fourfold from last year. | 