For the 13th annual global shopping festival on 11.11, Alibaba generated 540.3 billion yuan (US$84.54 billion) in gross merchandise volume (GMV) during the 11-day campaign. Sales up 8.5% compared to 26% last year.
"In this new 11.11, we have seen a steady growth that reflects the dynamism of Chinese consumption," says Yang Guang, vice president of Alibaba Group. We have also leveraged the power of 11.11 as a platform to fulfill our social responsibility. This year's festival was an important step in our commitment to building a sustainable future."
The Chinese online retail giant said sales during the 11.11 Singles' Day, which ended Thursday, reached 540.3 billion yuan ($84.5 billion), up from 26 percent growth last year. Sales have grown by double digits every year since Alibaba created the holiday in 2009 and made it the world's largest online sales holiday, eclipsing Cyber Monday in the United States. Last year, the company turned the gala into a multi-day event. The results come as overall consumption in China slows and the sales festival, which Alibaba once promoted in a big way, has become relatively low-key.
The key figures of the 2021 edition of the global shopping festival
78 brands exceeded 100 million yuan in GMV this year, up from 10 million last year, while 698 brands exceeded 10 million yuan this year, up from 1 million last year. More than 45% of consumers who made purchases were born in the 90s and 2000s. Consumers born in 2000 increased by 25% compared to the previous year.
500,000 products with official green product certification from more than 2,000 merchants were featured in a dedicated green vertical space on Tmall. More than 1,600 brands participated in the new "new member" campaign on Tmall and attracted more than 97 million new members during the festival. More than 1.3 million new products were offered by over 29,000 overseas brands that participated via Tmall Global this year, including 2,800 overseas brands that participated for the first time.
From November 1 to 10, 90 emerging brands remained the top brand in terms of GMV in their respective small categories for three consecutive years. 275 emerging brands saw their GMV double from the previous year for three consecutive years. More than one million packages were delivered by about 350 Xiaomanlv driverless vehicles.
"The Festival gives us a glimpse of the latest e-commerce trends in China, but it's only a snapshot," says Sébastien Badault, CEO of Alibaba France. The demand for French and international products remains strong, especially for French luxury brands. For its premiere at 11.11 this year, Boucheron, received nearly 20 million 'likes' during its launch livestream. This year, 65% of the brands that participated in the 11.11 event were small and medium-sized businesses."
Ahead of this year's 11.11 Global Shopping Festival, Alibaba Group migrated all its systems and operations to its public cloud. The use of renewable energy in the Zhangbei County data center has reduced carbon emissions by more than 26,000 tons. This year, Alibaba used its gala to highlight initiatives such as a program to help people with disabilities purchase clothing and efforts to use more environmentally friendly packaging.