Singles’ Day, the Chinese shopping festival that has long since become an international phenomenon, is celebrating its 10th anniversary on November 11th.
Year after year, commerce giants have experienced record-breaking spending rates worldwide. Last year, Alibaba reached $25 billion in a single day, a record the company intends to break once again in 2018. Its competitor JD.com reported a 50% increase in sales, reaching $20 billion. As we examine the atmosphere surrounding the commerce arena in the days leading up to Singles’ Day 2018, we notice these three exciting trends:
Let’s Get Physical: A Unique Offline Experience
While Singles’ Day is considered to be focused on online shopping, a recent trend among commerce giants involves increasing their offline presence. Amazon’s New York location, which sells popular items from the mega website, was soon followed by a London pop-up store. We can see that the retail giant is testing the offline water, and are curious to see how the shopping frenzy on Singles’ Day will affect its physical shops.
Meanwhile, Alibaba has announced a “New Retail” program and is preparing a line of in-store experiences to accompany the online shopping festival; pop-up stores, special offline discounts, and a unique partnership with Starbucks are just the beginning.
We can also assume that the in-store Singles’ Day experience will be more prominent than ever with JD.com, after announcing its plan to open 1,000 Chinese convenience stores per day in 2019. Across the board, this 10-year anniversary marks a new and exciting front for shoppers worldwide.
A Celebration of Innovation: Singles’ Day Launches
Singles’ Day is the perfect opportunity for retail companies to launch new and innovative products and services. A couple of years ago, JD.com first launched its drone delivery service, and this year, Alibaba has launched a mini space station in order to support eager shoppers.
Services that support Singles’ Day shoppers are also joining the party. Crowdsourced Delivery, for example, is now being tested by companies like Fujitsu, SMU, A*STAR, and UrbanFox. We can clearly see that come Singles’ Day, companies will be pushing boundaries in every single way.
All the Single Traders: How Sales Affect Trading
The most interesting form of shopping to watch around Singles’ Day is stock trading in the retail arena. The stocks of retail rulers have surged in past years, as reported by Nasdaq. JD.com’s third-quarter financial results were reported shortly after Singles’ Day 2017, and attributed much of the JD stock growth to the annual event’s sales. With massive presales taking place before November 11th, chances are that the trading world will also experience price shifts in Alibaba stock price earlier than the official date.
Alert traders are likely to see interesting movements in Amazon stock price, as well as stocks of other commerce leaders. Whether you’re single or not, we invite you to follow and trade these instruments on eToro.
Past performance is not an indication of future results. This is not investment advice. Your capital is at risk.