# consumer subsidies
Latest news and articles about consumer subsidies
Total: 4 articles found
Alibaba’s Qianwen Extends Free‑order Blitz, Links Up with Damai and Fliggy to Sell Tickets via AI
Alibaba’s Qianwen extended its free‑order promotion and added Damai and Fliggy integrations to let users buy event and travel tickets via AI. The campaign is part of a broader strategy to convert AI convenience into consumer lock‑in across Alibaba’s ecosystem, with strong uptake in lower‑tier cities but questions about costs and regulatory scrutiny.
China’s Viral AI App Crashes as Free ‘Milk Tea’ Giveaway Overwhelms Servers
Qianwen’s app crashed amid overwhelming demand for a widely publicised free milk-tea promotion, prompting the operator to ask users for patience and to confirm voucher validity until Feb 28. The outage exposes tensions between explosive AI-driven marketing and the logistical and regulatory realities of fulfilling mass consumer promotions.
China’s New-For-Old Subsidies Spark Surge in Appliance and Smart-Device Sales, Selling Over 15 Million Units in January
China’s subsidy programme for appliance trade‑ins and purchases of digital and smart products produced more than 15 million unit sales in January, generating nearly 590 billion yuan in turnover. The rapid local rollout — with all 32 regions activating subsidies — signals an early policy success in boosting consumption and encouraging greener, higher‑tech upgrades, though risks remain around front‑loading, fiscal cost and recycling capacity.
Alibaba’s Qianwen Escalates Spring Festival Subsidy War — 3 Billion RMB Pushes AI from Chat into Commerce
Qianwen has launched a 3 billion yuan Spring Festival campaign, enlisting multiple Alibaba ecosystem services to offer free orders and large cash red packets aimed at turning AI from a chat tool into a transactional assistant. The push comes amid competition from rivals such as Yuanbao, which offered 1 billion yuan in red packets, and marks a broader pivot by Chinese platforms to embed AI into everyday commerce during the high-spend Lunar New Year period.