Alibaba‘s annual 11.11 Singles Day festival this year stretches over not one but two weekends. From 1 to 3 November, the Chinese already had the chance to make bargains, this time with an extra lot of Western brands.
Craving for bargains
The Chinese have controlled the coronavirus faster than the West and now have a great deal of ‘pent-up consumption demands’, according to the Chinese trading platform Alibaba. That’s why, for the first time in the 12-year history of the bargain festival, the Amazon rival adds a second weekend to the 11.11 Global Shopping Festival, also known as Singles Day.
Between 1 and 3 November, consumers in China could already benefit from a first series of discount promotions and new product launches. In this way, the e-commerce giant also wants to relieve the logistics somewhat, as Alibaba is counting on a record 800 million shoppers, 250,000 participating brands and 2 million new products making their debut this year. That is twice as many product launches as last year, when the first hour alone generated more turnover than all of Black Friday in the West.
2,600 new Western brands
Particular attention is being paid this year to luxury and Western brands, now that Chinese consumers cannot travel and therefore cannot buy these products locally. Luxury shoppers will have access to promotions from nearly 200 brands, including Cartier, Balenciaga, and Chloé. For the first time, there is also a physical component to the online festival: in less digitally developed cities, vouchers are available to go to the coffee shop or convenience store at a discount.
Since the West is still suffering greatly from the corona crisis, Alibaba is strongly committed to promoting China as an outlet for Western brands and companies. The Western offer expands considerably and 2,600 new foreign brands will be launched on the platform during the 11.11 festival alone.
