Singles' Day: Alibaba and JD.com Report Strong Growth

Alibaba, China's leading e-commerce giant, announced impressive growth in both sales figures and the number of buyers during this year's Singles' Day. This traditional shopping event now spans several weeks and concluded with a record last Monday. Although Alibaba did not release total revenue figures, 45 brands, including Apple, Haier, Midea, and Xiaomi, achieved a gross merchandise volume of over one billion yuan. The competitor JD.com, the second-largest e-commerce provider in China, also refrained from disclosing specific sales figures. However, the company announced that the number of buyers had increased by more than 20 percent compared to the previous year. While third-party estimates for this year are still pending, last year's revenue growth was reported to be 2.08 percent, reaching 1.14 trillion yuan. Originally introduced as a one-day shopping event on November 11, Singles' Day has expanded to a week-long event in both e-commerce and brick-and-mortar stores. In this year's edition, which began on October 14, many anticipated rather subdued growth due to the persistently challenging economic conditions in China. Surveys by Bain & Company indicate that about three-quarters of consumers plan to maintain or even reduce their spending next year. Once accompanied by lavish gala evenings with major result announcements, the presentations of results by the major e-commerce platforms have become significantly more restrained since 2022. A highlight of this year's sales was larger household electronics, supported by a 150 billion yuan subsidy program introduced in July. According to JD.com, transactions in 519 categories related to home and electronics increased by 200 percent compared to the previous year. The collector’s toys and hobbies sector also experienced unexpected growth, particularly among younger buyers.