The sales of AI glasses and AI speakers doubled year-on-year, while the transaction volume of home appliances and furniture soared by 150 percent from a year earlier. In addition, outdoor sporting goods, beauty and skin care products, apparel and trendy toys have gained popularity among Chinese consumers.

Intelligent approach

Liu Bo, president of Tmall, said this year's promotional campaign presents the most significant opportunity for brands throughout the year, and "its role in driving brands' business growth is irreplaceable and increasingly vital".

Liu highlighted the importance of the convergence of AI and consumption, saying the company is doubling down on AI and aims to help merchants improve product quality and operational efficiency.

Alibaba has accelerated steps to promote the large-scale deployment of AI on Taobao and Tmall, and integrate large language models into the platforms' core search and recommendation engines to entice more consumers and increase sales.

JD's AI-powered digital humans assisted more than 40,000 merchants in their live-streaming sessions during the shopping festival, and the number of inquiries handled by intelligent customer service chatbots surpassed 4.2 billion, JD said.

Online discounter PDD Holdings is using AI to analyze market trends and consumer needs and preferences, while optimizing sales strategies to improve shopping experiences.

The State Council, China's Cabinet, issued a guideline on deeply implementing the "AI Plus" initiative in August. The country will promote the use of AI in science and technology, industrial development, consumption, people's well-being, governance capability and global cooperation, according to the guideline.

"AI technology is deeply reshaping the decision-making process and operational efficiency in the retail sector. Consumers can precisely select products by using AI-powered search tools, while AI will help merchants lower operational costs and improve efficiency in terms of product design, marketing and customer services," said Hong Yong, an associate research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.

The large-scale use of AI signals the e-commerce industry is gradually transitioning from dependence on online traffic toward an innovation-driven growth stage fueled by the accelerated application of AI-powered intelligent recommendations, customer services and virtual shopping guides, he said.