Alibaba tallied
Rival
The slowdown in growth for the world’s largest online shopping festival, which typically ends on
Singles’ Day has been viewed as the largest online marketing event of the year. In previous years, the festival was heavily advertised for weeks ahead of time with brands and merchants offering deep discounts to attract consumers looking for bargains.
But shoppers say deep discounts of what is also called “Double Eleven" are now a thing of the past and experts are predicting lower sales as the economy slows.
This year, Alibaba, the e-commerce platform that pioneered the online shopping festival more than a decade ago, decided not to showcase a running tally of its real-time gross merchandise volume (GMV) — defined as the amount of transactions racked up across its platform — on its site for the shopping festival, taking on a more muted tone compared to previous years of glitzy marketing campaigns.
Chinese regulators have cracked down on technology companies, investigating giants like Alibaba and food delivery firm
Earlier this year, Alibaba was fined a record
Last week, 16 e-commerce platform operators — some of which are linked to Alibaba and
Platforms are also reining in the marketing hype to align themselves with Chinese President
“The decision not to publish a live GMV tally suggests China’s major e-commerce platforms believe this consumption display is incongruent with current 'common prosperity' themes,” said
“While not publishing a live GMV tally may appease local sensibilities, without careful management, it may spook foreign investors who are already concerned about Alibaba’s growth prospects,” he said.
Online retailer
Although it was a common to see consumers take advantage of deep discounts in past Singles’ Day festivals to stock up on daily necessities, consumption habits have changed.
Demand is weaker amid the uncertainties brought on by the pandemic, and Singles Day is now competing with other e-commerce festivals throughout the year.
“2021 is a year of troubled times. There is the pandemic and various disasters, economic growth is slow and the stock market is not performing well,” said
“These make people a little bit panicked. After all, you have a stronger sense of security if you hold onto your money,” she said. “I think people are also more rational now when it comes to consumption.”
Another shopper,
“I don’t think it’s necessary to waste time and energy in order to save a little money, so the things I buy are what I need,” he said, such as snacks and fruit.
Jiang seemed happy with a lower key approach to the festival.
“I hope that there will be less exaggerated publicity and hype in future (Singles’ Day) sales, and that the discounts will be bigger,” he said.
“Because of the pandemic, I'm not able to travel and take vacations, so all I can do is find some joy in online shopping,” she said. “I think shopping on Double Eleven has become a habit for young people.”
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AP video producer
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