Chinese shoppers spent $139.1 billion during this year's annual Singles' Day shopping extravaganza, breaking last year's record even though spending slowed during the coronavirus pandemic.
Alibaba tallied CNY 540.3 billion ($84.5 billion) in
spending over the festival that spanned November 1 to November 11, the company
said Thursday, a growth of 14 percent compared to a nearly 93 percent increase
last year.
Rival JD.com reported CNY 349.1 billion ($54.6 billion) in
transactions this year, from October 31 to November 11, about a 28 percent
increase compared to 32 percent growth in 2020.
The slowdown in growth for the world's largest online
shopping festival, which typically ends on November 11, comes amid reduced
marketing hype and a crackdown on the technology industry.
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 Meituan
over alleged anti-competitive practices.
Earlier this year, Alibaba was fined a record $2.8 billion
for violating antitrust rules. Ahead of Singles' Day, Alibaba, rival JD.com and
Meituan were among companies asked to curb excessive marketing text messages
sent to consumers during the festival.
Last week, 16 e-commerce platform operators — some of which
are linked to Alibaba and Meituan — were also summoned by regulators in the
southern province of Guangdong and warned over "unfair competition."
Platforms are also reining in the marketing hype to align
themselves with Chinese President Xi Jinping's calls for "common
prosperity," which includes curbing excess and advocating for more
equitable distribution of wealth and resources.
"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 Michael Norris,
research strategy manager at the Shanghai-based consultancy AgencyChina.
"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 JD.com also did not publicly stream a
running tally of sales this year. But it did hold a media event Thursday, where
a counter showed that as of 2 pm local time shoppers had spent over $48
billion.
Although it was 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 Hua Wei, a Beijing resident.
"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, Jiang Chen, said that he held back on
impulse shopping this year, buying only what he needed.
"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.
Meng Xiaolu, a sales manager who lives in the eastern
province of Zhejiang, said she spent most of her shopping budget for this month
on Singles Day sales of cosmetics and clothes.
"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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