(Yicai) June 18 -- Chinese e-commerce platforms and manufacturers have seen sales of small home appliances, especially of beauty, health care, and pet care products, soar during this year's 618 shopping festival.

Alibaba Group Holding's Tmall reported sales of home appliances jumped 21 percent last month from a year earlier, with those of robot vacuum cleaners surging 55 percent. In addition, sales of pet air purifiers and low-noise, pet-friendly, quick-dry hair dryers doubled.

Most Chinese e-commerce sites launched 618 discounts on May 13, with the promotion even running through today. The event began earlier this year to capture '520,' an abbreviation for May 20, which is celebrated like Valentine's Day in China.

On JD.Com, sales of beauty devices and hair dryers soared over 200 percent since June 7, of massage and foot therapy devices 132 percent, and of electric toothbrushes and water flossers surged more than 150 percent. Meituan reported that the value of small appliance transactions nearly doubled over its mid-year promotion event.

Tymo prepared stock for three times the usual daily sales for the 618 event, Qi Miao, founder of the Chinese innovative hair styling tools maker, told Yicai. Sales were good and met expectations, he pointed out.

The success of this year's 618 shopping festival was due to competitive pricing, which lowers entry barriers and introduces new use cases, according to analysts. Price differentiation, tech innovation, and market competition are also reshaping the industry, they added.

In the hair straightening brush market, Dyson's blow-dry stylers retail for around CNY3,000 (USD418), while the products of Tymo and similar brands range from CNY150 to CNY600 (USD21 to USD84), with some budget options below CNY20 (USD2.78), the analysts noted.

Younger consumers, particularly those born after 2000, are redefining market trends, said Jing Hui, head of consumer electronics at BeautyOne and the livestreaming platform of Chinese cosmetics influencer Li Jiaqi. This group values lifestyle quality and social experiences, showing a stronger demand for stylish, high-value products, Jing added.

Tmall Genie smart speakers, water purifiers, instant hot water dispensers, and coffee machines sold rapidly on Li Jiaqi's livestreams during the 618 shopping gala, fueled by demand for home automation and convenience, Jing pointed out.

Top brands should avoid price wars and focus on premium products with strong quality-to-price ratios, noted a spokesperson for MiniJ, which launched a three-kilogram wall-mounted washer-dryer and retro mini-refrigerators for offices.

Significant potential for innovation in the small appliances market still exists, with companies that have sustained technological advancements likely to gain a competitive edge, according to a report by China International Capital released earlier this month.

Editor: Martin Kadiev