Beneath the Shopping Frenzy: Who Really Benefits From Singles Day?
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Beneath the Shopping Frenzy: Who Really Benefits From Singles Day?

Chu Bu Liu Xiang
Iyiou, 2017
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Recommendation

On Singles Day 2017, Alibaba once again broke sales records, generating ¥168.2 billion ($25.3 billion) in transactions across its e-commerce platforms. Despite this whopping success, Singles Day 2017 also received the most complaints from consumers criticizing Alibaba’s pricing strategy and complicated rules for obtaining and using coupons. Shoppers and store owners alike had trouble determining the final price of products prior to landing on the final payment page. Business blogger Chu Bu Liu Xiang from tech media site iYiou explains how Singles Day has changed and why small to midsized store owners are now dreading the event. getAbstract recommends this article to coupon clippers and bargain hunters.

Summary

Singles Day – China’s largest online shopping event that e-commerce giant Alibaba invented  – takes place on November 11 each year. Up until 2014, small to midsized online store owners on Alibaba’s marketplace platforms Taobao and Tmall happily participated in the event because sales volume and profits notably increased on that day. At the time, competition wasn’t as tough and getting Alibaba to promote your store or your sales items didn’t cost as much. After 2014, however, the market became much more competitive as the number of shops increased exponentially on Taobao and Tmall. To receive the same kind of exposure, businesses had to fork over much higher marketing costs. At the same time, Alibaba made changes to how it directs traffic and promotes products. Those stores that already attract the majority of user traffic receive...

About the Author

Chu Bu Liu Xiang (pseudonym) is a business blogger who writes for Ling Shou, a WeChat wemedia account that focuses on business, retail and tech reports. This article was republished on the Chinese tech media site iYiou.com.

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