Singles’ Day has been viewed as the largest online marketing event of the year. It is heavily advertised for weeks ahead of time with brands and merchants offering deep discounts to attract consumers looking for bargains.
Earlier this year, Alibaba was fined a record $2.8 billion for violating antitrust rules. Ahead of Singles’ Day, Alibaba, rival JD.com and Meituan were among companies asked to curb excessive marketing text messages sent to consumers during the festival. “The decision not to publish a live GMV tally suggests China’s major e-commerce platforms believe this consumption display is incongruent with current ‘common prosperity’ themes,” said Michael Norris, research strategy manager at the Shanghai-based consultancy AgencyChina.
Although it was a common to see consumers take advantage of deep discounts in past Singles’ Day festivals to stock up on daily necessities, consumption habits have changed. Another shopper, Jiang Chen, said that he held back on impulse shopping this year, buying only what he needed.