China’s zero-Covid policy and a waning consumer mood are affecting online retailers Alibaba. This is also reflected in the quarterly figures. The shipping giant falls short of analysts’ expectations.
Corona restrictions and slowing consumer spending dampened sales growth at Amazon’s Chinese rival Alibaba in the past quarter. Revenue rose 3 percent to 207.18 billion yuan by the end of September, the company said. The online retailer fell short of analysts’ expectations, which had expected an average of 208.62 billion yuan. Profit fell by a fifth to 20.56 billion yuan.
Alibaba made a loss of 22.5 billion yuan in the three months to the end of September. In the same period last year, the group had made a profit of 3.4 billion yuan.
Retail spending in China has fallen this year as the strict zero-Covid policy has often led to short-term closures, thereby weighing on consumer sentiment. The operator of China’s largest online marketplaces has faced increased competition from the likes of ByteDance’s Douyin and has also been impacted by regulatory intervention in the tech sector.
