Last Saturday November 11 was China’s popular Singles Day celebrated on 11.11; this was the biggest online shopping day in the world, breaking records for having the most e-commerce sales in one day. This is what it reveals about e-commerce and e-logistics in China.
E-commerce, is a broad, yet dominant industry in the market for its ability to reach customers abroad. In a country where the use of technology is widely spread, like China, e-commerce is maybe at its most powerful. Companies like the Alibaba group or JD.com, offer thousands of brands and products available at the simple touch of a screen, facilitating and widening the prospects of retail. E-commerce is also a predominant industry for the simple fact that there is a huge target market. With more than 1.3 billion of people in China, retailing online can reach to quite a few.
Singles Day, initially started by college students as a protest against Valentine’s day, became a festival for e-commerce companies such as America’s Cyber Monday , and celebrated November 11th (11.11). This online shopping day set records for world’s most sales in one day. With a catching date, “double eleven” as copyrighted by Alibaba, also symbolising the single individual with the digit “1”, has racked more sales than any other commercial events before.
That’s why e-commerce giant Alibaba utilises national shopping day,
Singles Day “11.11”, setting a WORLD RECORD FOR MOST SALES IN 24H
Last year’s Singles Day made over $17.8 Billions in profits for Alibaba in 24 hours alone, in which 82% of purchases were made through a phone. These impressive numbers are the products of China’s love for bargains and a progressive utilisation of e-commerce; in the span of 6 years, Alibaba’s numbers went from $0.8 billion to $17.8 billions. China’s progression in the latest ecommerce trends lead reports to conclude that “China will account for about 60% of global e-commerce” “by 2020” (source: Forbes). This year’s Singles Day topped last year's sales with a chill $25.3 Billions of revenue, leaving 11/11 as WORLD 'S MOST SALES IN ONE DAY.
But what do the numbers mean exactly?
That’s 1.5 billion packages waiting to be shipped out. Reports are saying that that’s “between 600 and 700 packages” per delivery man, delivering from 6am to 10pm. Obviously with this many parcels, accommodations have been made; high-speed trains in China are exceptionally offering cargo services for packages that need to be delivered (source: Xinhuanet). Alibaba developed their own logistics network, Cainiao, and intend to expand their logistics staff and have chartered flights delivery services to North america, Europe, and Asia to answer to the increasing demand abroad, and are now they are planning on “using big data, which allows fast delivery from proximity warehouses/stores” (source: Forbes).