The 618 shopping festival is China's big mid-year sale, built around 18 June. Most 618 trading happens on Chinese marketplaces, so for brands outside China the best 618 campaign ideas are the ones you run on your own channels: a pre-sale waitlist, a countdown calendar to 18 June, a lucky-draw wheel with coupons and a product vote that decides the biggest deal. Start four to six weeks ahead, because the festival now opens in May.
If you sell to Chinese-speaking customers through your own webshop, serve visitors from China in your shops or run a cross-border e-commerce business in Asia, 618 is on your customers' calendar whether or not it's on yours. Below you'll find what 618 is, when it runs in 2027 and 2028, how it works, a planning timeline and 10 campaign ideas with the right game format and channel for each, plus prizes, consent and local rules.
What Is the 618 Shopping Festival?
618 (å…一八, also written 6.18 or 618大促) is named after 18 June, the day JD.com was founded in 1998. The company turned its anniversary into a sale, other Chinese e-commerce platforms joined, and it grew into a festival that runs across the whole market (Wikipedia). Together with Singles' Day on 11 November, it's one of the two biggest online shopping events in China.
Today, 618 is a season rather than a day. In 2026, the period that data firm Syntun tracked ran from 13 May to 18 June, according to Daxue Consulting. Typical mechanics include:
- Pre-sales where shoppers pay a deposit early and the balance on the day
- Cross-store discounts such as "spend X, save Y"
- Coupons and red envelope rewards collected through games and tasks
- Livestream shopping, often for hours a day
- Flash sales in the final hours before midnight on 18 June
The same analyses point to a festival that has matured: growth has slowed, the large platforms have mostly stopped publishing sales totals, and shoppers have grown tired of complicated discount rules. That's a reason to keep your own mechanics simple.
When Is 618 in 2027 and 2028?
The main day is fixed: 18 June. In 2027 it falls on a Friday, and in 2028 on a Sunday. The pre-sale and warm-up phases are set by each platform every year, and in recent years they have started in mid to late May. Plan for a window of four to five weeks that ends on 18 June. Our free marketing calendar helps you line 618 up with your other summer dates.
Where 618 Campaigns Run, and Where Scratcher Fits
Be realistic about the channels. Inside mainland China, 618 happens on local marketplaces, super-apps and livestream platforms, with their own coupon and game systems. Scratcher doesn't integrate with those platforms.
Scratcher is for the channels you own:
- Your website or webshop, for customers in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and Chinese-speaking customers worldwide
- Your newsletter and SMS list, to warm customers up before the sale
- QR codes in shops, outlets and department stores that welcome visitors from China, and on packaging
- Students and expats from China in your home market, who know 618 well
For a European brand, 618 also lands at the same time as the start of the summer sales, so a 618 theme can double as a mid-year sale for everyone. See our seasonal sale ideas for the wider sale calendar.
618 Planning Timeline
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| 6 weeks before 18 June | Pick the goal: sign-ups before the sale, sales on the day, or both. Choose one main idea and your offers. |
| 5 weeks before | Build the game, write texts in the languages your customers use, set up prizes, codes and odds. |
| 4 weeks before (mid-May) | Open the pre-sale waitlist or countdown. Connect your email tool or CRM. |
| 2 weeks before | Remind sign-ups, reveal the biggest offers, put QR codes in shops. |
| 16–18 June | The main push. Send the last reminder before midnight on 18 June. |
| After 18 June | Draw winners, send results, follow up with new sign-ups. |
10 Campaign Ideas for 618
1. Pre-sale waitlist with a guaranteed gift
What it is: Instead of a deposit, people sign up early to get first access to your 618 offers plus a small guaranteed gift. You build the list in May and sell to it in June.
Channel: Website, social ads and newsletter.
Format: Pre-registration
2. Countdown calendar to 18 June
What it is: A door a day for the final 18 days, each with a small game and a new offer. The final door, on 18 June, holds the best deal.
Channel: Newsletter, SMS and app.
Format: Campaign calendar
3. Lucky-draw wheel with coupons
What it is: A spin with a coupon on every slice, from free shipping to a large discount. It turns the coupon hunting shoppers know from 618 into one simple spin. Make unique codes with the discount code generator.
Channel: Website pop-up.
Format: Spin the wheel
4. Product battle: you choose the biggest deal
What it is: Two products face off each day, and the community votes on which one gets the deepest 618 discount. Voters sign up to be told the winner.
Channel: Social media and newsletter.
Format: Product battle
5. 6-1-8 slot machine
What it is: Three reels, and a "6-1-8" line wins the main prize. Smaller combinations win coupons. It's a playful nod to the date that works without a word of explanation.
Channel: Website and newsletter.
Format: Slot machine
6. Guess the price
What it is: Show a product and ask players to guess its 618 price. The closest guesses go into a draw, and everyone gets the real price by email. It builds attention for your hero products.
Channel: Social media and newsletter.
Format: Quiz
7. Product finder for the sale
What it is: In a big sale, the hard part is choosing. A short product finder narrows your range to three suggestions and sends them by email with a code.
Channel: Website, search and social ads.
Format: Product finder
8. Scratch card on screen during a livestream
What it is: Show a QR code during your live shopping stream. Viewers scan, sign up and scratch for a prize they can use while the stream is on. Read our post on gamification in live shopping.
Channel: Livestreams on your own site or social channels.
Format: Scratch card
9. In-store mystery box for visitors
What it is: A QR code in the shop or on a tax-free shopping sign opens a mystery box with a same-day gift. It works for flagship stores and outlets with many visitors from China. Make the codes with our QR code generator.
Channel: Shops and outlets.
Format: Mystery box
10. Mid-year survey with a prize draw
What it is: After 618, ask buyers what they bought, what they almost bought and what they want next. Everyone who answers enters a draw. You get data for the next sale, Double 12 or Singles' Day.
Channel: Email to buyers.
Format: Survey
Need more ideas? Try the free competition idea generator.
Prize Ideas for 618
618 shoppers expect a deal, so the prize mix matters:
- Many instant coupons with different values, so almost everyone wins something
- Free shipping or a gift with purchase, which protects your prices better than deep discounts
- A limited 618 bundle as the main prize
- Early access to the sale for everyone who signs up
Keep the rules short. One of the complaints about the big festivals is discount maths that nobody understands. Use the prize odds calculator to balance the number of prizes against your budget, and the discount vs prize calculator to compare a discount with a prize draw.
Collecting Sign-ups and Consent
The game is the reason to sign up, so ask for the email or phone number before the result.
- Consent: A clear, unticked marketing checkbox. The consent text generator helps.
- Language: You write all campaign texts yourself, so you can run in English and Chinese side by side. Have a native speaker write or check the Chinese.
- Fair play: One entry per email address or phone number, limits on how often someone can play and blocked throwaway addresses keep coupon hunters from emptying your prize pool.
- Terms: Who can enter, prizes, dates and how winners are chosen. The competition terms generator gives you a draft.
- Follow-up: A welcome email the same day, then the sale reminders people signed up for.
Check Local Rules
Prize promotions are regulated differently in each market. Mainland China has its own rules: the 2020 Interim Provisions on Regulating Promotional Activities cap the top prize in a lottery-style prize promotion at ¥50,000 and require you to publish the prizes, number of prizes or odds and how to claim before you start. China revised its Anti-Unfair Competition Law in 2025, so check with a local lawyer which rules apply today. Hong Kong, Singapore and other markets have their own rules too. For Europe, see competitions and GDPR. This article is general information, not legal advice.
What to Measure
- Sign-ups before the sale starts, and how many of them buy during it
- Conversion rate from game visit to sign-up
- Coupon redemptions and the average order value with and without a game coupon
- Revenue from new subscribers in the weeks after 618
- Cost per lead compared with your paid channels
Tag every link with the UTM builder, and use the campaign ROI calculator to work out the return.
FAQ
What is the 618 shopping festival?
618 is China's mid-year online shopping festival, named after 18 June, the founding date of the e-commerce company JD.com. It has grown into a sale season across all the big Chinese platforms, with pre-sales starting in May and the peak on 18 June.
When does 618 start?
The main day is always 18 June. The warm-up is set by the platforms each year. In 2026, the period tracked by Syntun ran from 13 May to 18 June, so plan for about five weeks.
Can a European brand take part in 618?
Yes, on two levels. Brands selling in China usually join through Chinese marketplaces. Brands outside China can run 618 campaigns on their own website, newsletter and in-store QR codes for Chinese-speaking customers and visitors, or use the date as a mid-year sale for everyone.
What's the difference between 618 and Singles' Day?
Singles' Day (11 November) is the bigger year-end festival, started by Alibaba. 618 is the mid-year counterpart, started by JD.com. Both use pre-sales, coupons and livestreams. Read our Singles' Day campaign ideas for the November event.
Get Ready for 618
618 is the first of the year's big shopping festivals. Double 12 and Black Week and Cyber Monday follow later in the year, so the sign-ups you collect in June are worth more by November.
Scratcher has 40+ game formats, 150+ templates and Rex, an AI assistant that builds a campaign design from your website. Start your free 14-day trial (no credit card needed) or book a meeting and we'll help you plan your 618 campaign.
