Tmall, the business-to-consumer shopping site under China's largest e-commerce company Alibaba Group, said it will offer 1 billion yuan (US$159 million) in discounts for consumers as well as subsidies for external vendors in the second half of the year to boost sales.
The site's move is believed to have come in response to a similar sales campaign at its large rival 360Buy. Tmall today said it would offer cash vouchers for online buyers for every order worth 800 yuan, and the higher the order value, the more cash vouchers consumers will receive.
The discounts will cover all product categories including clothing and apparel, home furniture and baby products. Tmall earlier estimated that sales this year may double from 2011 to reach 200 billion yuan with digital devices and home appliances making up 50 billion yuan.
360 Buy Chief Executive Officer Liu Qiangdong said on Monday that it will launch a price war offensive in the second half of this year and details will be revealed later this month. Another major rival, Tencent, said in May it will inject US$1 billion into its e-commerce unit to upgrade services and boost sales.