SINGAPORE:
When the clock rings on Thursday (November 10) 12, Ms. Lv Jing will perform a task: check the items in her shopping cart as quickly as possible on Alibaba’s e-retail platform Taobao.
Over the past week, the 31-year-old Singapore teacher has been browsing thousands of retailers and populating her shopping cart on the popular Chinese website. In order to ensure that the items are heavily discounted and eligible for additional promotions in the one-day festival, speed will be key, Ms. Lv told Channel NewsAsia.
After all, the November 11 annual event is China and the world’s largest online shopping day. Seven years ago, the Internet giant Alibaba launched the day, single people bolted their 24-hour event to see the retailers to provide huge price cuts.
In 2015, Alibaba’s sales reached a record $ 14.3 billion ($ 20 billion), more than US $ 11.1 billion in online sales for similar events in the United States such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Last year, Ms. Lv started shopping at midnight at retail stores. By Nov. 11, she had spent nearly $ 2,000 on toys for her newborn, clothing and fashion accessories, and even got a free oven from the retailer as its top 20 customers.
“Last year was probably my most crazy shopping experience, and I was on maternity leave; besides feeding and playing with my baby, I was still shopping until the last minute of the” double “,” she said. Due to dates, singles days are often referred to as “double 11” or “double series”.
“Everything is very cheap, sellers have additional promotional items such as $ 200 worth of items at $ 20, or they emit a free gift like the iPhone at a given time, so if you miss the first promotion you need to plan , Look at what you can do for the second, “she added.
Ms Lv Jing spent nearly S$2,000 on Singles’ Day last year. (Photo: Tang See Kit)
ON THE SHOPPING LIST: CLOTHES, FURNITURE, DEVICES
Consumers from Singapore became the seventh largest overseas consumer group in 2015, attracting more consumers from Russia, Hong Kong, the United States, Taiwan and Spain.
According to Alibaba, clothes and handbags, electronic devices such as mobile phones and flat-panel TVs, and household appliances such as robot vacuum cleaners, are the top five items Singaporeans purchased during the one-day sales last year.
Euromonitor analyst Lim Yu Xian said that in addition to the love of online shopping, procurement and transportation services to the rise of shopping agents also prompted Singaporeans and other overseas sites in Taobao shopping.
“The notion of shopping on an overseas site is increasing with the emergence of shopping agents such as ezbuy, SGShop and vPOST,” Mr Lam explained. “Singaporeans also tend to look for bargains, so they are used by Chinese websites On a cheaper price to attract.
For Ms. Kwok Lai-man, the forthcoming one-day celebration is an opportunity to facilitate furniture and home furnishings. The 28-year-old financial adviser has so far spent $ 3,000 on Taobao, buying tables, armchairs and bathroom cabinets for her new home.
The items she plans to buy on Friday include bar speakers, bed sheets, hangers and kitchenware. “I’m going to buy more stuff … and my budget is about S $ 400 to S $ 500,” said Mr. Guo, who started shopping on Alibaba’s e-commerce platform nearly three years ago.
The variety of products, the availability of customized services, and most importantly, the reason why the price is much lower than in Singapore is that Mr. Kwok turned to Taobao to buy large items such as furniture. “I have budget restrictions, in addition, Taobao has more variety and color, you are hard to find in Singapore.
Ms. Guo, for example, said she had allocated a wooden table for about S $ 200. Even with increased freight, the price is still a similar table, she looked at a third of a local furniture store.
When asked if she was concerned about substandard products, Ms. Guo said she would usually do her research by reading reviews and communicating with retailers before placing orders. So far, she is satisfied with her purchase, she said.
Ms Doleries Kwok has set aside S$500 to buy furniture and household items on Taobao during the annual sale. (Photo: Tang See Kit)
Meanwhile, Ms. Li, who is attending her one – day sales event for the first time this year, said she is looking for electronic equipment such as CCTV cameras and RFID tags.
SME directors have previously purchased these items on Taobao and plan to buy them in bulk during the sales period on behalf of her company.
“I know last year’s singles day, when there was news that Alibaba how to rewrite their sales records, which I am interested in, I would like to see how much discount.” If they are good, I will buy, because for I purchased the items, purchased on Taobao means huge savings.
“In the current economy, savings are more important for small and medium-sized businesses like ours,” she added.
OTHER E-RETAILERS HOP ON BANDWAGON
With the success of Alibaba’s Singles’ Day sale, other e-commerce players in China like JD.com have started offering their own discounts on Nov 11.
Likewise in Singapore, some online sites and local retailers have also jumped on the bandwagon. Cashback platform Shopback, for one, has teamed up with Alibaba and other merchants for the second year running to roll out exclusive deals.
“It’s not just Alibaba that wants to hit a new sales record, other merchants also saw the opportunity in latching on so for them, we are a very good platform as an additional touchpoint to reach customers that they otherwise cannot reach,” Ms Josephine Chow, country head for Singapore at Shopback, told Channel NewsAsia.
Given that Singaporeans may have difficulties shopping on Taobao – which is not available in English – and navigating its extensive list of retailers and products, Shopback has also organised tutorials to teach new Taobao shoppers how to snag better deals during Singles’ Day.
Quilts for Alibaba employees to rest as they prepare for the upcoming 11.11 global shopping festival, also called Singles’ Day. (Photo: Reuters)
At the same time, other local online platforms will launch single-day discounts including Alibaba-backed Lazada and fashion retailer Zalora.
“The commercial value of such big events comes from the collective action, as more retailers join in, it creates more marketing effectiveness and enhances everyone’s awareness,” says Miss Murdoch’s Miss.
Analysts are optimistic that Singapore’s single-day sales will grow this year despite the bleak economic outlook.
“Online retailing in the retail sector is already a bright spot in a slowdown in economic growth,” she said, adding that the research team’s online retail business in Singapore has seen double-digit growth in the past five years.
Mr Lin says the move to online shopping and campaigns such as the one-day festival is also why the big sales in Singapore have lost their luster.
Consumers like Karen Tao are those who like to shop online rather than the store. Taobao, one of her favorite shopping sites, has spent about S $ 12,000 in the past 12 months.
“Once you realize you can get a cheap online, you will not want to shop in Singapore, even if I go shopping and see what I like, I’ll take pictures and try to find it online,” Ms. Tao said. “Unlike last year’s singles day, I do not have time to do my research this year, but I will make sure I buy something on November 11. I can not miss it.
While she acknowledges that some shoppers may be concerned about the quality of products sold on Taobao, Ms. Tao compared her online retail journey on the platform in search of treasure.
“It’s good to find out from the bad, when you get a quality buy, that’s the real” baby “(Chinese looking for treasure),” she said. “It’s like a treasure hunt, and when you find one, it can be really satisfying.”
Follow See Kit on Twitter @SeeKitCNA
