SHANGHAI: China’s Singles’ Day sales festival is coming to a close after more than a month of promotions on the country’s largest e-commerce platforms, which failed to spark widespread consumer excitement during the world’s largest shopping event.
Consumer malaise in China, stemming from a prolonged property crisis and concerns about income security, has made it harder than ever to get people to open their wallets.
In response, retailers have become more aggressive about year-round discounting, rolled out billions of yuan in consumer subsidies and coupons and elongated sales events.
Many sites kicked off this year’s Singles’ Day – which refers to Nov 11, or 11.11 – in the first half of October, making it the longest festival to date.
“It is a mixed bag,” said Josh Gardner, CEO of Kung Fu Data, which manages online stores in China for over a dozen global fashion and lifestyle brands. “Muted might be a good word to describe sentiment and sales this Singles’ Day period.”
“We have some brands that have done extremely well, far exceeding expectations,” he added. “Others are flat or up or down slightly over last year.”
Last year’s sales for what was then the longest-ever event – also called “Double 11” in China – totalled 1.44 trillion yuan (US$202 billion), according to Syntun, a data provider.
FEW DETAILS ON PLATFORMS’ SALES
While major platforms once held galas to herald the record-breaking sales that seemed to just roll in year after year, companies including Alibaba and JD.com have not disclosed total Singles’ Day sales for several years.
On Wednesday, JD.com said its turnover had reached a “new high”, with the number of users placing orders increasing by 40 per cent and the number of orders increasing by nearly 60 per cent.
On JD.com, sales of Bellamy Organic baby products from Australia, American pet brand Instinct and French skincare from Avène all increased by over 150 per cent from a year earlier, the company said.
Source: CNA
