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When Singles Day was launched nearly a decade ago, the then growing Alibaba e-commerce brand did not really think it would change the face of business in its country.
Even in their own accounts, their goals were much more modest – they were just looking for a type of marketing event to draw attention to his new online marketplace, Tmall. Mobile was something almost nobody in China had ever heard of, and online shopping was nothing more than a flash. This was not an important part of the public consciousness.
But the firm had the idea that a commercial event, such as Black Friday or Cyber Monday, was perhaps what needed to be done for the awareness to begin – if it was very specifically aimed at Chinese consumers .
Which led them to the Singles Festival – a "vacation" in China that was more of a joke among students than when the current CEO of Alibaba, Daniel Zhang, came across the concept in 2009. Singles Day was an annual celebration on November 11th. without romantic partners.
Zhang realized that it was a perfect choice for shopping.
"If people are still single, we can offer them good choices and they can shop online. Then they will not feel alone, "said Zhang about the initial idea that launched Singles Day.
And although the first turnover was modest – only 27 brands participated in the initial celebration of the event – Alibaba knew they were on something that would become big.
Really big, it is.
So big, in fact, that even its creator said that he had never anticipated the size and scale that Singles Day would eventually create. His main hope was simply to introduce into the concept of e-commerce a slightly larger band of Chinese consumers.
"I never thought we could turn this day into a business day … for the whole society," Zhang told CNBC. "I think today is more like a phenomenon."
A phenomenon that has so far been growing every year, but could move towards a more turbulent water in 2018.
A brief history of the singles party
The first slogan of Singles Day was:
"Even if you do not have a boyfriend, you can at least shop like crazy."
(男女 购物).
We are told that it is more eye-catching in Chinese.
But, according to reports, stressing that celibacy was a status to celebrate with a treat instead of being ashamed, Alibaba actually created a kind of holiday-like holiday feeling, according to which only a handful of Chinese consumers were aware. a decade ago.
Above the festive atmosphere were 50% discounts among the handful of participating merchants, who had to be cajoled at the start of the event. But those who stayed on board (many gave up at the last minute, according to Alibaba) were finally satisfied, with some noting that they had generated up to three months of sales in a single day.
A star Is Born.
In 2010, Singles Day had become an annual event of $ 135 million, which posed significant logistical challenges to meeting the demand. Some customers have complained of waiting weeks, if not months, for products ordered during the holidays – and there was speculation that the event would collapse under its own weight.
However, after many built and rebuilt infrastructure, including logistics and payments, Singles Day was on track – and in 2012, it was officially larger than Cyber Monday in terms of revenue. In 2014, it was more important than Cyber Monday and Black Friday.
At that time, it was also becoming more and more a mobile-based shopping event, fueling the rise of Alipay.
In 2015, Singles Day was more important than Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined – and the celebration had shifted from online broadcast to television, via national broadcast, and live broadcast at the same time. global scale.
These events are increasingly elaborate in recent years in show: Daniel Craig, Kobe Bryant, David and Victoria Beckham, Pharrell Williams and Nicole Kidman are just a very small list of all the celebrities who have were drawn for the event. . These live broadcasts also featured contests giving luxury cars and live fashion shows that allowed viewers to buy looks lounging live on the Tmall track in real time.
However, despite all that has changed with Singles Day (officially known as 11.11 in Alibaba's marketing for this event in the last five years), one thing remains constant: it's growing steadily, in terms of income.
In 2017, Singles Day generated $ 25.3 billion, of which 90% was mobile.
But as the festivities begin in the coming hours, this celebration of 11.11 is set against a backdrop that makes the new year of revenue growth a far cry from Alibaba this time around.
The challenges of 2018
According to most market observers, the 2018 Singles Day has three major problems at Alibaba: the fact that this holiday is now a universal event in the retail business, the fact that the concern over the slowdown in the Chinese economy and the United States.
Competition, most often noted, probably represents a sunk cost – and something that Alibaba has successfully managed for at least five years.
The cooling economy in China is also a cause for concern. Alibaba's chairman, Michael Evans, told Bloomberg earlier this week that there was "some uncertainty about what's going to happen," pointing out that the demand for expensive items, such as that washing machines, televisions and automobiles have been weaker in recent months. However, he added that the sectors of cosmetics, food, fashion and clothing continue to experience strong growth and that the platform plans an increase in its turnover. Business on the one billion customers that she expects to see on her platforms during Singles Day.
With regard to the trade war, it is fair to say that the imminent possibility of trade disruption did not please Alibaba. The founder and past president, Jack Ma, recently called it "the stupidest thing in the world". Evans, on the other hand, noted that, from the point of view of Singles Day, they are not too worried.
"The 11/11 is not an event that relies exclusively on a market," he told Bloomberg TV in an interview Friday. "We are going to work with more than 200 countries and regions as part of this huge event, so we do not anticipate any areas with significant influence, with the exception of China, of course."
Chinese consumers – and a growing number of consumers in countries such as Russia and the Philippines – are, according to local press accounts, ready and eager to go on vacation, and have been trading buying strategies for several weeks.
In addition, this year, according to Alibaba, Singles Day is much more than online sales: it is, according to their own accounts, to showcase the entire ecosystem. This means that this year, the savings, offers and offers of the stay will extend to the new Alibaba physical retail stores and their new Ele.me food delivery company, thanks to a series of Augmented Reality (AR) game designed to attract consumers through a series of physical environments with 11.11 connected retail offerings – and even in its recently opened grocery stores and convenience stores.
"Singles Day is now a milestone for Alibaba who wants to showcase its capabilities on all of its platforms," said CEO Zhang at a press conference prior to the event.
And it would seem that Alibaba is quite willing to show up this year and expects it to be a great day.
Staff reportedly distributed more than 20,000 quilts to workers who will be staying at their desks over the weekend to meet the demand, as orders begin to pass from one channel to the other.
We will let you know on Monday how it happened.
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