With 11 years of burgeoning development, 11.11 has evolved into a recognised annual carnival for the retailing industry, gradually influencing the global E-commerce landscape. The 11.11 Global Shopping Festival celebrated 11th anniversary and set the new records in 2019 at a Gross Merchandise Value of CNY 68.4 billion with over 25% growth year-over-year. Alibaba has been vigorously pushing up this number over the past 11 years, reflecting its vitality and Chinese consumers’ shopping enthusiasm.
Prioritising Lower-tier Cities
According to Jiang Fan, the president of Taobao and Tmall, this 11.11 has reached 100 million new users, fundamentally drove from the mining of users from lower-tier cities. Regardless of platforms or brands, they aimed at targeting consumers in lower-tier cities by providing more suitable methods and products. According to data from Juhuasuan (Alibaba’s flash sale platform), major domestic brands such as Hair, One leaf and Kuka generated more than 60% orders from lower-tier cities. In the meantime, a large number of international brands are exploring opportunities to enter small-town youths’ houses. One of the most critical innovation strategies this year is “direct-source products”, which has mainly empowered the agricultural industry, led the $7 billion sales of related products on 11.11.
Growth by Way of Live Stream
2019 is inarguably the "year of live streaming," which has become a standardised industry, requiring live streaming influencers to invest in commodity management, content planning and price controlling. Live streaming is no longer a new method, but a regular even prioritised channel for brands to seek innovation and reach modern consumers via content-oriented and community-oriented features. According to Tmall’s data, over 100,000 brands used live streaming to reach consumers in 2019. During 11.11, live streaming brought about CNY 20 billion GMV with 140% growth YoY, amongst which ten live streaming channels reached the turnover over CNY 100 million. The beauty industry benefited most from live streaming, where 16% of sales are redirected from live streaming in 11.11.
Tmall 2.0 Goes Big
In June 2019, Tmall launched a strategic product – Tmall 2.0, aiming to leverage brands’ holistic digital transformation. Brands are able to manage consumer data by leveraging Tmall 2.0; consumers can enjoy a new experience of online and offline integration. During this 11.11, 1167 Tmall 2.0 flagship stores achieved a 50% YoY growth of consumer visits and 20% more of the conversation rate for purchase. Backed by its increased openness, stronger omnichannel connection and enhanced application of data, Tmall 2.0 brought 200 million visits to brands and generated enormous consumer data during 11.11. Brands have been further relying on Tmall for incubating new products and reaching the more extensive base of consumers.
11.11 is no longer for pure discounts but becoming a digital-native shopping culture taking roots in Chinese consumers’ minds. This culture has been penetrating APAC countries, amid Alibaba and JD.com’s aggressive global expansion strategies. The potential is yet to unleash, and the carnival will keep thriving.