Alibaba's Lazada Finds Cautious Shoppers As Its Shopping Extravaganza Kicks Off - Alibaba Gr Holding (NYSE:BABA)

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's BABA Southeast Asia e-commerce unit Lazada Group saw a slight pullback in higher-ticket items, including electronics, as Singles' Day's annual mega-sales event kicked off.
Consumers are being more cautious when spending on high-ticket items like costly electronics, Lazada Chief Business Officer James Chang said in an interview with Bloomberg.
"People are thinking, now that things open up, is there going to be a lot of pullback? Indeed, in certain sectors and areas, we see that," he said.
Also Read: Alibaba and JD.com Impress With Presales Figures For Singles' Day
Still, Alibaba expected customers to spend more and exploit discounts ahead of an anticipated era of accelerating inflation and a possible economic downturn.
Many customers, especially for repeat purchase goods, looked to enjoy the discounts to stock up, he said.
Lazada and Sea Ltd's SEA Shopee lured online shoppers during monthly mega-sales events, offering bargains and special deals in Southeast Asia.
The discount-driven monthly affair reaches a peak during Singles' Day, a 24-hour-long sales bonanza on November 11 that seeks to replicate its Chinese peers' success.
This year, online sales will likely stagnate as consumers cut back on spending amid rising inflation and the threat of a recession.
Alibaba, the tech giant that dominates Singles' Day in China, will likely post flat to meager growth in takings from this year's event.
Bloomberg even raised the prospect of an unprecedented fall in the value of its transactions.
It's hard to see where sales will end at the end of Singles' Day, but Lazada is "quite bullish," Chang said.
Alibaba kicked off its Singles Day extravaganza for the first time in years without its two mega sales stars.
Price Action: BABA shares traded higher by 4% at $72.57 premarket on the last check Friday.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons

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