China’s annual 618 mid-year e-commerce festival, a significant indicator of consumer spending in the world’s second-largest economy, experienced a decline in sales for the first time in eight years. This drop, reported by retail data provider Syntun, suggests that the recovery in consumer spending remains sluggish amid ongoing economic challenges. Sales drop for the first time since 2016The gross merchandise value (GMV) during the 618 festival fell by 7% compared to the previous year, totaling 742.8 billion yuan ($102.3 billion). This marks the first decline in sales since Syntun began trackin…