Singles Day off to big buying bang

The extended Singles Day shopping festival this year saw robust sales during its grand opening on Monday evening, with major e-commerce platforms ramping up efforts to provide discounts and shopping subsidies, and simplify promotional methods to attract price-conscious consumers.

Experts said that as China’s biggest online shopping event, the 11-11 — or Double Eleven promotional campaign — is expected to witness the accelerated application of AI technology in the retail sector to improve merchants’ operational efficiency, offer shoppers personalized guidance and bolster sales.

Data from Tmall, Alibaba Group’s e-commerce platform, showed that in the first hour after the shopping carnival kicked off at 8 pm on Monday, 80 brands witnessed their sales surpass 100 million yuan ($14 million). The turnover of more than 30,000 brands doubled year-on-year, while sales of over 18,000 brands exceeded that of the entire day last year within the first hour of the gala.

Liu Bo, president of Tmall, said this year’s 11-11 promotional shopping extravaganza presents the most significant opportunity for brands throughout the year, and its role in driving brands’ business growth is irreplaceable and increasingly vital.

Liu highlighted the importance of the convergence of AI and consumption, saying the company is betting big on AI and aims to help merchants improve product quality and operational efficiency.

It is promoting the large-scale deployment of AI on Taobao and Tmall, and integrating large language models into the platforms’ core search and recommendation engines to entice more consumers and boost sales. Tmall will also issue 50 billion yuan worth of shopping coupons and subsidies to shoppers during the buying spree.

According to JD, another major e-commerce player, the turnover of more than 52,000 brands surged more than 300 percent between 8 pm on Oct 9, when its promotional gala opened on 6 pm on Monday. Over 3,300 product categories saw their sales soar over 100 percent from a year earlier.

Consumer electronics maintained rapid growth, with AI-related products experiencing a nearly 200 percent year-on-year increase in sales via JD’s online marketplaces, while more than 2,000 home appliance and furniture brands skyrocketed over 100 percent year-on-year.

Hong Yong, an associate research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said major e-commerce platforms have made promotional methods simpler this time, with direct price cuts being a preferred strategy, which is conducive to improving consumers’ shopping experience. MDT/China Daily