China's 'Singles Day' retail bonanza fades due to a drop in consumer demand

 China's 'Singles Day' retail bonanza fades due to a drop in consumer demand

Sales have slowed as it was revealed this week that China experienced deflation again in October, highlighting the difficulty policymakers still face in reviving demand. In this year's Bain consumer study, 77% of respondents said they had no intention of going over budget for the sales event.

On November 10, a worker at a logistics facility in Nanjing, in the eastern Jiangsu province of China, transports parcels for delivery in advance of the Singles' Day shopping holiday. (Photo: AFP)

As the second-largest economy in the world slows down, shoppers in China seem mainly unaffected by the dazzling offers and discounts that mark the end of the annual "Singles Day" shopping spree on November 11 at midnight.

"Singles Day" was created by the digital giant Alibaba and was first observed in 2009. This year, it took place over the course of more than a week, and it has grown to become an annual blockbuster shopping event.

An analysis released recently by the consulting company Bain states that sales on last year's Singles Day amounted to 1.1 trillion yuan (153 billion).

However, 77 percent of customers questioned by Bain this year said they had no intention of spending more than normal during the sales event.

Zhang Chuwen, a recent graduate who is 23 years old, told AFP that "people are consuming less these days, people don't really have much of a desire to buy lots of things." Rather, she said, her pals were purchasing "everyday necessity products" with the proceeds.

several claim that several websites boosted their rates ahead of time just to lower them for the occasion, and that this year's Singles Day offers aren't as excellent as previous years.

Guan Yonghao, 21, said AFP, "The prices are not that different compared to other days." Thus, he said, "I didn't buy anything." "We could save a little because we are making less money."

Singles Day has "lost its lustre" due to a number of phenomena, according to Jacob Cooke, co-founder and CEO of Beijing-based e-commerce consulting company WPIC Marketing + Technologies, who spoke with AFP.

"The proliferation of live streaming various secondary shopping festivals... means a decrease in the relative attraction of Singles Day simply a time to load up on discounted products has been reduced," he said.

decreasing demand

With their protracted online sales pitches, livestreamers, who attract millions of viewers for China's largest e-commerce companies, also report that business is slowing down in comparison to other editions of the shopping festival.

According to e-commerce livestreamer Liu Kai, "this year's Singles Day sales via the web are not as good as last year or two years ago," as reported by AFP.

The event's name, November 11, or "11/11," is a playful tribute to being single, inspired by the four ones in the date.

However, several platforms saw sales this year as early as late October.

Like its primary competitor JD.com, Alibaba withheld complete sales numbers for the historic shopping spree last year, claiming instead that revenues were unchanged from the previous year.

Sales have slowed as it was revealed this week that China experienced deflation again in October, highlighting the difficulty policymakers still face in reviving demand.

In recent months, Beijing has taken steps to support its faltering economy, launching a massive infrastructure investment plan and revealing a number of measures, many of which are targeted at the property industry.