Tea Rush Overwhelms Qwen App During Spring Promo

The digital equivalent of a midnight sale frenzy hit Alibaba's Qwen app today as its "Spring Festival 3 Billion Discount Campaign" launched with a tea-focused blitz. Within just three hours, over a million tea orders flooded the system - proof that even AI platforms aren't immune to holiday shopping mania.

Social Media Buzz Turns Into Server Stress

Morning social feeds lit up with posts about "The First AI Tea," as users compared notes on scoring the best deals. Many appreciated Qwen's no-nonsense discount approach compared to competitors' more convoluted red envelope promotions. But this enthusiasm came at a cost - servers buckled under the unexpected load.

"We knew there'd be interest," an Alibaba insider shared, "but nobody predicted we'd hit seven figures before lunch."

Growing Pains for Popular Platform

The technical struggles created real headaches:

• Laggy interfaces left users staring at frozen screens
• Some received cryptic "system is away" messages
• Store location features failed to automatically update
• Order confirmations sometimes required switching to Taobao

Despite these hiccups, industry watchers note Qwen's aggressive marketing has successfully positioned it as a major Spring Festival player. The platform's willingness to spend big on discounts shows how seriously tech giants are taking the holiday shopping wars.

Key Points:

• Record-breaking start: 1M+ tea orders in under 3 hours
• Technical challenges: Server lag and interface issues emerged
• Consumer appeal: Users praised straightforward discount structure
• Strategic move: Part of broader Spring Festival market positioning