Chinese spend $100bn on deals
SINGLES’ DAY: SCALED UP VERSION OF BLACK FRIDAY It’s an indicator of a robust recovery of consumption in China.
Chinese shoppers splurged more than $100 billion (about R1.5 trillion) in the world’s biggest shopping event of the year. Hundreds of millions used online stores to scoop up bargains in the Singles’ Day consumer marathon that dwarfs the US Black Friday phenomenon. Everything from jewellery and video games to furniture and food was sold on the country’s biggest e-commerce platforms run by tech titans Alibaba and JD.com.
While Singles’ Day – so-called for its annual 11.11 date – has long been a 24-hour event, its creator Alibaba has expanded it to an 11-day promotion beginning on 1 November.
Alibaba said yesterday it took 498.2 billion yuan ($74.1 billion) of orders during the extravaganza, a 26% rise on the same period last year, while JD.com recorded sales valuing 271.5 billion yuan.
However, Alibaba did not publish a tally for Wednesday’s takings, making it hard to directly compare sales. Last year, sales on Alibaba platforms alone for the 24-hour period totalled $38.4 billion.
This year’s event took on even more significance as it was seen as a bellwether of consumer sentiment in the world’s number two economy as it recovers from the coronavirus lockdowns.
“We have benefitted from the robust recovery of consumption in China,” Jiang Fan, president of Alibaba’s Tmall and Taobao shopping sites, said yesterday.
As the country emerges from the effects of the virus and containment measures, the recovery in retail sales has lagged that seen in industrial sectors, but analysts have said it is gaining pace. And the temptation of a bargain helped that recovery.
Sam, a Tianjin-based student, said: “I had put tons of stuff in the cart already days before Singles’ Day, and when the day came, I didn’t even check what the discount actually was, I just clicked ‘ confi and bought them all. I assume I saved a lot.”
Conceived in 2009 by Alibaba as an antidote to Valentine’s Day, the event was meant to be an occasion for individuals to treat themselves to something new. It has expanded to encompass much of China’s retail sector.
I didn’t even check what the discount was