Partner Article

It’s love at first sight! Vendors head over heels for Alibaba on ‘Singles Day’

Alibaba Group is continuing to make waves online as it sets its sights on a 2014 public offering, believed to be the biggest since Facebook’s debut on the NASDAQ last year.

With the company processing more than $5 billion in revenue and its profits topping 35 billion yuan ($5.75 billion) in the 24h period on ‘Singles Day’, the Chinese market is clearly the place to be for eCommerce.

Earlier in November, ‘Singles Day’ marked China’s biggest online shopping event of the year and it did not disappoint. Millions of people celebrating singledom (or not) flocked online to purchase gifts. This record breaking event demonstrated how this generation and the ones to follow are heading online as their first port of call for shopping.

This is now equally recognised by the boardroom as it is within sales and marketing. This year more than 20,000 brands joined the ‘E-tailing Fest’, including many western companies, such as Microsoft, Gap and Adidas. Alibaba and its commerce platforms act as Point of Sale (POS) for these brands. It is the reach of the eCommerce channel, whether via mobile or social, which provides the biggest lure to vendors who chose to list their products and services online.

Not all vendors have the resources or budget to invest in an all singing, all dancing commerce platform, especially for ‘pop-up’ days which happen once a year. While an online presence is becoming mandatory for brands, it is those which engage with the individual and improve customer service that are winning. In order to build loyalty online, vendors need to be ‘customer centric’.

However, understanding customer and their shopping patterns is no easy task, even the largest companies find it difficult to execute. With the rise of eCommerce, businesses now sell directly to the “individual” and must learn to understand the habits of its customers.

On Single’s Day, Alibaba knew people would use their mobile and tablet devices to browse for gifts (OK, to put things into context, it’s worth noting that Alibaba is giving away free smartphones to encourage merchants to shift from PC-based online shopping to shopping via mobile phones).

The internet giant offered free data to its customers so they would not exceed their mobile limit while shopping. This value-add meant customers had peace of mind and confidence in mobile web surfing. This in turn contributed to increased transactions on mobile devices by 5x, and revenue came to $877 million on ‘Singles Day’.

The bottom line that all product and service providers must now adhere to is that every minute of every day customers try and find their favourite brands or special deals online, via any touchpoint. As more people choose the eCommerce path, smart companies are monitoring website traffic to in-app usage and analyzing the data to engage better with customers whilst improving their offering.

These ‘Customer Centric’ players better understand online shopping habits and are add value to their services. Nowadays the ability to service at every touch point can make the difference between winning or losing online sales despite the day of the year.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Michael Ni .