The Singles Day shopping festival, aka Double 11, that falls on Nov. 11 customarily is a shopping bonanza in China that domestic retailers use to great advantage. Chinese online retail giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd - ADR BABA, which spearheads the shopping push during the annual affair, maintained a low profile this time around but ended up doing well.
What Happened: Singles Day generated 540.3 billion yuan ($84.54 billion) in gross merchandise volume for Alibaba during the 11-day campaign, the company said in a statement following the conclusion of the event.
During 2020 Singles Day, Alibaba raked in GMV of $74.1 billion over a two-week period that ran from Nov. 1 to 11.
Rival JD.com Inc JD announced its 2021 Singles Day tally of a record 311.4 billion yuan ($48.6 billion) across its platforms.
Related Link: What To Expect When Alibaba Reports Its Q2 Results
Alibaba noted a record 290,000 brands participated this year, of which 65% are small and medium-sized businesses, manufacturers from industrial belts and new brands. Agricultural belts in less developed regions enjoyed strong sales, with GMV of agricultural products from these regions growing 20% year-over-year, it added.
"This 11.11 Global Shopping Festival, we delivered steady and quality growth that is a reflection of the dynamic Chinese consumption economy. We also leveraged the power of 11.11 as a platform to fulfill our social responsibility," said Yang Guang, vice president at Alibaba Group.
Alibaba stated 78 brands totaled 10 million yuan GMV in 2020, while there was GMV exceeding 100 million yuan in 2021. More than 45% of consumers who made purchases were born in the ‘90s and ‘00s.
About 500,000 products with official Green Product Certification from more than 2,000 merchants were featured in a dedicated eco-friendly vertical on Tmall, Alibaba's business-to-consumer online retail platform.
More than 1.3 million new products were offered by over 29,000 overseas brands that participated via Tmall Global this year, the company said.
Over one million packages were delivered by around 350 Xiaomanlv driverless vehicles from Nov. 1 to 10, surpassing the volume of packages delivered by Xiaomanlv vehicles from September 2020 to September 2021.
Alibaba kickstarted the event in early November, with two shopping windows — one from Nov. 1 to 3 and another on Nov. 11. The company had then said the focus of the 2021 Singles Day will be on sustainability and inclusiveness, in line with the Communist regime's climate goals and common prosperity.
Why It's Important: The Chinese government's crackdown on the high-and-mighty tech companies that began late last year and intensified early this year toned down expectations for this year.
The government has been targeting big conglomerates for misusing their dominant market positioning and condemning their monopolistic business practices. It has also expressed concerns over data security and wealth distributions.
The crackdown led to an across-the-board sell-off in Chinese tech stocks, which have seen a bulk of their market valuation being wiped out.
Adding to the somber mood this year is the weakening of retail spending in China amid depressed consumer sentiment and the power crunch in China that has caught industries unawares.
BABA Price Action: Alibaba's shares were up 2.26% to $167.65 Thursday afternoon.
Related Link: Why These 2 Alibaba Analysts Expect Muted Near-Term, Positive Long-Term Prospects
Photo: Courtesy Alibaba
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