Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s Single’s day, also known as the 11.11. shopping festival, is annual 24 hours e-commerce event that started in 2009. The date was chosen as a counter-part to Valentine’s Day, as 11.11. ressembles “bare branches” a Chinese expression for the unattached. This year, the group reported US$25 billion (RMB 168,2 billion) in gross merchandise volume, 39% more than last year.
The event went global this year, as 60 000 international brands and merchants from 225 countries and regions participated. Countries selling the most to China through Single’s day were: Japan, the United States, Australia, Germany and South Korea.
To promote its event, the Chinese e-commerce giant hosted a star-studded gala, with participation of Nicole Kidman and Pharrell Williams. "We want to make Singles’ Day a more global event" said Daniel Zhang, chief executive officer at Alibaba, "We could take the gala overseas very soon."
Facts in short
- 1.48 million transactions were processed.
- Most transactions were made using mobile devices, accounting for 90% of the total sales.
- At peak, Alibaba Cloud processed 325 000 orders per second.
- 140 000 brands and merchants participated in this year’s event.
- 82 brands made over 100 million in sales, including Nike, Xiaomi and Uniqlo.
Omnichannel sales boosted Alibaba’s sales
In the weeks leading to the event, Alibaba teams have been working across China to update the computer systems of 600 000 small convenience stores and 1000 brands. Chosen in prime city locations, those retailers will work as delivery and storage centers for the giant. Through it’s Ling Shou Tong app (meaning connect retail), Alibaba connects a 10th of China’s 6 million convenience stores to the Internet. Furthermore, 100 000 retails outlets will be transformed into smart stores, with leading brands such as Levis or L’Oreal onboard.
