Alibaba’s supercharges 2018 11.11 Global Shopping Festival

Alibaba Group Holding has officially kicked off the 2018 11.11 Global Shopping Festival in Beijing, China, and promised that this year’s mega-event will be the largest ever in scale and reach. 
 
Businesses within the Alibaba ecosystem will jointly offer consumers an enriching experience and demonstrate Alibaba’s New Retail strategy – the convergence of online and offline retail through technology.
 
“This year marks the 10th anniversary of 11.11. On the back of China’s explosive digital transformation, the festival’s astounding growth over the past decade has powered the steady growth of quality consumption sought by Chinese shoppers.The evolution also showcases the development of the Alibaba ecosystem over time expanding well beyond e-commerce,” said Alibaba Group CEO Daniel Zhang.  
 
Zhang conceived 11.11 as a concept a decade ago, turning Single’s Day on the Chinese calendar into the world’s largest annual shopping event. The first 11.11 in 2009 brought in US$7.8 million in gross merchandise value (GMV). Total GMV generated in 2017 was US$25.3 billion. Over the past decade, China’s number of Internet users has risen to 802 million and 98% of them are mobile*. 

Alibaba expects to keep leading the way in retail innovation.
 
“Over the last two years, we have pioneered the concept of New Retail to accelerate the digital transformation of the offline. We are excited by the impressive results achieved to date and will continue to be the driving force innovating for merchants and customers in the coming decades. We aim to become both the number-one business partner for brands and the No. 1 shopping destination for consumers,” Zhang added.
 
This year, 500,000 items will be available for preorder on Tmall. Customers can enjoy additional promotional coupons on Mobile Taobao and Mobile Tmall.  Specifically, the 2018 11.11 Global Shopping Festival will have the following features made possible by New Retail and interactive initiatives:

·           Brand inclusion
Tmall will continue to give brands access to new digital capabilities –180,000 brands from China and around the world will participate in this year’s celebration. 200,000 smart stores in China across the apparel, fast-moving consumer goods, beauty products, automobile and home décor industries will help boost traffic to offline and online shopping destinations. Tmall Global provides 3,700 categories of imported goods from 75 countries and regions on its platform. 
 
·           International consumers
Tmall World, AliExpress and Lazada will bring the event to hundreds of millions of overseas users, making 11.11 a truly global event. Lazada will host its first 11.11 Shopping Festival across six countries in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam, offering more engaged consumer experience and the biggest discounts of the year from LazMall and Lazada marketplace.
 
·           Participation of local services
Ele.me’s on-demand platform will provide delivery services for select Starbucks stores across 11 Chinese cities, including full-service coverage in Beijing and Shanghai, China. In addition, 150,000 merchant partners of Koubei will offer half-price discounts on catering, beauty and hair salons and karaoke bars.
 
·           Opportunities for small businesses
Some 200,000 mom-and-pop stores powered by Alibaba’s Ling Shou Tong (which translates as “retail integrated”) will provide online sales promotions, along with augmented reality-based red packets that offer discounts at 3,000 “Tmall Corner Stores.” Rural Taobao will also bring coupons to its services in 800 counties across 29 provinces in China. 
 
·           Dining and supermarket
The Hema supermarket will designate 11.11 signature stores featuring a number of promotions. RT-Mart will complete the makeover of its nearly 400 stores, fully equipping them with New Retail capabilities.
 
·           Star-studded entertainment
Tmall Collection’s See Now, Buy Now Fashion Show was broadcast live on 10 platforms including Taobao, Youku, Weibo and Toutiao on October 20. This allowed customers to buy items on the spot and vote for their favorite looks to create a trend report. In addition, the signature countdown Gala will be held on November 10 in Shanghai’s Mercedes Benz Arena, featuring renowned stars. 

The 11.11 shopping festival began in 2009 with participation from just 27 merchants as an event for merchants and consumers to raise awareness about the value of online shopping. Last year, nearly 140,000 brands and merchants participated in the event, with consumers spending US$25.3 billion during the 24-hour period.

*According to a CNNIC report dated August 20, 2018.