During this year’s 11.11 festival, cross-border e-commerce site, Tmall Global ramped up its preparations to assist foreign businesses to capitalize on this festival’s tremendous potential and reach the 900 million Chinese consumers who participated.
Here are some updates, insights, and a behind-the-scenes look, that will give you a deeper understanding of how China’s biggest retail extravaganza was put together this year.
1) A large number of SMEs (about two-thirds of the 290,000 retailers) participated. This meant more options for consumers.
2) Apple and cosmetics brand L’Oréal sold more than RMB100 million ($15.6 million) between midnight on November 1 and 00:45 on November 11.
3) As esports becomes more popular, gaming desks and seats, mouses, graphics cards, and gaming laptops were among the most popular items for this year’s 11.11.
4) Consumers From Smaller Cities and Rural Areas powered this year’s 11.11. Spending by these consumers increased by nearly 25% compared to last year.
5) During the first two hours of 11.11 pre-sales on October 20, more than 20,000 buyers purchased green home appliances, saving 300 tonnes of carbon emissions that would otherwise be emitted by the manufacture and use of inefficient appliances.
6) Thousands of brands ramped up special privileges to engage their top customers. This included limited-edition goods and member-only vouchers, as well as complimentary after-sales maintenance and repairs.
7) Tmall Global businesses incorporated short films from influencers and Key Opinion Consumers (KOCs) on their product sites, thanks to recent enhancements. And, a newly created warehouse network enabled next-day deliveries in China.
8) More than 200 premium and designer labels took part, including, for the first time, Hermes and Saint Laurent.
9) Consumers could buy one shoe for half the price of a pair on Tmall’s brand flagship stores. This was part of the “One Shoe Program” that aimed to make shopping more accessible to people with disabilities.
10) Taobao Live, which is used by brands to sell their products on Taobao’s virtual marketplace, introduced a number of new livestreaming capabilities, including content marketing tools and brand channel membership programs.
11) Taobao Deals and Idle Fish launched Mini-Programs on WeChat, while Youku, Damai, Ele.me, and Kaola used WeChat Pay to handle platform transactions. This 11.11, shoppers were able to make purchases using UnionPay and other payment partners for the first time.
12) This year, Alibaba donated RMB1 for every 11.11 purchase that was successfully shared on social media by users. The proceeds from this year’s 11.11 will primarily benefit three groups of people: the elderly living alone, kids left in rural places while their parents work in cities, and low-income households in emerging regions.
13) To enable contactless delivery, it also used robots to manage its smart warehouse and deliver items directly to people’s doorsteps.
14) Taobao’s senior mode features larger texts and icons and voice-assisted technology, making it easier for senior citizens to search for products using voice commands.
Digital Crew is a Chinese digital marketing agency that can help your business successfully provide the best shopping experience to your consumers during all major holidays. Get in touch with us today.
