China's gift sales soar as the Qixi Festival arrives

Qixi Festival, Chinese Valentine's Day, fell this year on Aug 4, boosting a spending spree in China.

During the festival, gift sales jumped 162.8 percent compared to two weeks ago, according to the Shenzhen Economic Daily, citing JD.com.

Lipstick, necklaces, perfume and wine became the most popular gift. During the Qixi sales promotion, the gross merchandise volume (GMV) of lipstick, gold jewelry, fashion watches, fashion decorations and aromatherapy increased 103 percent, 280 percent, 400 percent, 120 percent and 120 percent respectively, from a year earlier.

Flowers are still a popular gift for couples, with their sales volume surging 200 percent year-on-year via the online shopping platform Pingduoduo.

Gifts giving by women to men also increased fivefold year-on-year, with e-sports products as best sellers.

The post-95s generation and post-00s generation had more spending enthusiasm during the Qixi Festival, with their spending accounting for 69.3 percent of the total of Qixi gifts sales.

Moreover, it is predicted that 3.5 percent of people will buy gifts after the festival as a "consolation".

Catering, hotels and tourism are also seeing robust growth. Reservations for restaurants, hotels and scenic spot tickets rose 368 percent, 120 percent and 440 percent respectively compared to the week before the festival a year earlier, according to the online consumption scenarios provider Meituan.