Alibaba Group has launched its annual double 11 Global Shopping Festival, with a focus on sustainability and inclusiveness. This year’s event is expected to be the largest 11.11 Global Shopping Festival to date, with Tmall offering more than 14 million deals and a record 290,000 brands participating. Aussie brands are again expected to do well again this year.
What started as a promotional event in 2009 with just 29 brands, to raise awareness of online shopping has become one of the biggest online sales globally.
Appetite for Aussie brands continues
Aussie brands are continuing to prove popular at the sales event with Swisse, Chemist Warehouse and BioIsland consistently amongst top sellers. This year 2600 Australian brands and close to 1000 New Zealand brands are listed on the marketplace.
“This year’s Festival is one of the largest opportunities for Australian businesses to reach consumers in China. With the festival now in its thirteenth year, the event will see more than 900 million consumers across China and more than 290,000 merchants and brands join in the campaign,” says Maggie Zhou, Managing Director of Alibaba Group, Australia and New Zealand.
Indeed appetite for Australian products is unabated- in 2015 Chemist Warehouse too seven hours to sell out 15 products. This year the brand sold out 30 product lines in 90 minutes.
Sustainability a focus of 11.11
To encourage sustainable action during this year’s Festival, Alibaba has increased the use of green technology, partnered with brands to lower carbon footprints, and utilised plastic-free, recyclable packaging. Alibaba’s logistics arm Cainiao Network has also introduced package recycling across 10,000 Cainiao Post Stations in 20 cities.
“As the event becomes more mature and established, it is crucial for us to focus on building on existing value systems and giving back to the community, which is why we’ve chosen to implement a number of new initiatives to promote sustainability and inclusiveness,” Zhou said.
Throughout the Festival, Alibaba Group will be leveraging further innovations in live streaming technology to create more fun and engagement for Chinese consumers. Taobao Live will feature 700 leading KOLs, celebrities and brand representatives in livestream sessions. In addition, Taobao will roll out a new feature for users to share their “shopping cart” items with friends and family, creating a more social shopping experience.
To ensure that 11.11 is inclusive to all that participate, Taobao has introduced “senior mode,” a new feature designed to make the user interface more accessible for senior citizens. It offers voice-assisted technology, simplified navigation, larger font size and icons. The app homepage also offers games for elderly users to unlock special discounts for groceries, making the experience more engaging for what Alibaba has dubbed the “silver generation”.
Want more? Get the latest coronavirus news and updates straight to your inbox! Follow Kochie’s Business Builders on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Now read this
It’s still not too late to gear up for Black Friday – the essentials you need to know
Trending
Weekly business news and insights, delivered to your inbox.