Singles Day gets off to fast start as Chinese grab bargains - Nikkei Asian Review

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HANGZHOU, China -- Hundreds of millions of Chinese stayed up until midnight and as of early Wednesday, had snapped up 372.3 billion yuan ($56.3 billion) of goods as e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding kicked off its annual "Singles Day" sales promotion.

The November 11, or Double 11, promotion is the world's largest online shopping event. The accumulated transaction volume for the first half-hour, combined with that from a new early Nov. 1-3 sales window, surpassed the full sales total for last year's event, when merchants on Alibaba's platforms sold 268.4 billion yuan.

The sale, in its twelfth installment, is set to provide a glimpse of consumer appetites as China has sustained two quarters of economic growth. It will also give Alibaba crucial data to help drive its business strategies focusing on domestic consumption, cloud computing, data intelligence and globalization.

Alibaba said it will offer lucky draws and coupons worth 500 million yuan to draw sales, and its promotion was further aided by a gala show on Tuesday night featuring artists including American singer Katy Perry and action star Jackie Chan.

"I bought 2020 edition Adidas running shoes for 35% less than normal retail price," said Gu Qing, a banker in Shanghai.

Online retail sales grew by 9.7% over the first nine months of this year, even as total retail sales fell by 7.2%, as many Chinese merchants shifted focus to sell online as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Despite the impact from COVID-19, we expect Singles Day sales to grow further this year with more intense competition between sellers," according to Jennifer Ye, who leads PwC's China consumer markets practice.

One of the key features of the promotion is livestreaming, which provides potential buyers with real-time information about products. China's livestreaming e-commerce market is projected to grow to 2 trillion yuan by 2021, up from 1.05 trillion yuan this year, according to KPMG.

Alibaba said luxury brand Cartier tapped its livestreaming platform recently, showcasing over 400 watch models and jewelry items.

Beyond China, Alibaba's cross-border e-commerce platforms, including Lazada, will run their own version of Double 11, targeting customers in Southeast Asia and other regions.

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