Inside the world’s largest shopping festival: how Singles’ Day 2021 unfolded

Online conversations around Singles’ Day in South East Asia were gaining steam all week and peaked on November 10, the day before the sales. Top platforms where people discussed these sales included Twitter, Reddit, TikTok, blogs and forums, according to research by Meltwater.

Among the region’s leading e-commerce players, Shopee drew in the maximum online mentions (62%), followed by Lazada (24%).

“Singles’ Day is no longer just about the discounts – it has become an annual ritual that hooks consumers through different forms of engagement. The key learning here for brands and retailers is that they need to look beyond prices and promotions, and seek out new ways of engaging customers to retain them in the long run,” says Mimrah Mahmood, senior director and partner at Meltwater.

Taranjeet Singh, managing director for South East Asia and India at Criteo, says according to Criteo data, there was a 4% year-on-year increase in the SEA region’s retail sales during 11.11 this year, led by purchases in consumer electronics and tech (14%), apparel (10%) and lifestyle products (19%).

Sales breakdown across countries saw a 3% decrease in Hong Kong, a 22% increase in Taiwan, a 6% decrease in Indonesia, a 22% increase in Singapore and a 35% increase in Vietnam.

“It was interesting to note that according to Criteo’s Consumer Sentiment Index Survey, more than half of the consumers surveyed have already thought about their holiday gift purchases in September 2021. With the popularity of 11.11 remaining high, shoppers are expected to continue their holiday gift purchases in time for Christmas gifting,” says Singh.

Data from mobile analytics platform App Annie found that Lazada took the lead by hourly iPhone downloads among shopping apps on November 11 between 4am-6pm in Singapore.

In China, the e-commerce site Pinduoduo remained number one by hourly iPhone downloads among shopping apps on November from 12am-5pm.

“Retailers are capitalizing on this upward trend, constantly finding new ways to attract customers through novel experiences such as shoppertainment and livestreams. Already we see social media companies like TikTok and YouTube looking to have a piece of the pie,” explains Cindy Deng, managing director for Asia Pacific at App Annie.

Mohammed Sirajuddeen, growth and digital commerce lead for growth markets at Accenture Interactive, says 2021 saw a marked shift in Alibaba’s strategy as the company moves its attention toward metrics beyond gross merchandise value to also consider sustainability and inclusivity targets this year.

He says the evolution of its strategy aligns with Accenture Interactive’s research that indicates that 73% of consumers in Asia Pacific want brands to do more to make it easier for them to buy and consume sustainably.

“We see brands this year understanding this importance and offering better support for consumers, for example through green shopping vouchers to incentivize the purchase of green products and package recycling options, in their pursuit of purpose,” explains Sirajuddeen.

“This year’s Singles’ Day has also thrown a spotlight on the quintessential role the supply chain plays in ensuring consumers enjoy the best possible brand experience. We observe that brands are working closely with marketplaces to ensure they have adequate volumes pre-stocked, can manage free returns and provide ease of orders across borders, and that they ready last-mile distribution networks for the fulfilment of orders post Singles’ Day.”

Outside of SEA, the Singles' Day trend also influenced markets around the world including the US.

For example, Urban Outfitters launched a special promotion for 11 limited-edition vinyl singles on Singles' Day as the brand wanted to become a go-to destination for millennials and Gen Z to explore new artists, chic decor, and unique gift-giving ideas.

"Looking ahead, there is a great advantage in e-commerce companies and brands creating a day that’s all about their customers and how they can best provide value for them. Using an event concentrated on customers allows a brand to not only solidify retail-consumer trust but breakthrough to a second tier of trusting consumers: their closest friends and family," explains Ryan Urban, chief executive officer of Wunderkind.

"However, given the current supply chain crisis, many brands may be better suited to stray from their traditional holiday playbooks and instead run their text and email promotions now to help their loyal customers get products on time for the gift-giving season, rather than waiting to Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotions that may lead to consumer dissatisfaction as a result of shipping delays."

How did the major e-commerce platforms fare?

Alibaba

• The e-commerce giant’s 13th annual Singles’ Day festival generated RMB540.3bn ($84.54bn) in gross merchandise volume (GMV) during its 11-day campaign leading up to November 11.

• 78 brands went from RMB10m in GMV to RMB100m in GMV, while 698 brands went from RMB1m to RMB10m in GMV this 11.11.

• Alibaba reported that more than 45% of consumers that made purchases were born in the 1990s and 2000s, while consumers born in the 2000s increased by 25% year-on-year.

• Over 1,600 brands participated in the new membership challenge campaign on Tmall and attracted over 97 million new members during this Global Shopping Festival.

• “This year’s festival was a meaningful milestone as part of our commitment toward building a sustainable future,” says Yang Guang, vice-president at Alibaba Group.

JD.com

• Transaction volume totaled RMB 349.1bn yuan at midnight of November 11, ending the 11-day promotion that started from 8pm on October 31.

• The transaction volume of 31 brands surpassed RMB 1bn yuan, with Apple surpassing RMB 10bn yuan.

• Over 6,000 new apparel brands joined JD’s Singles’ Day this year, such as Victoria’s Secret, Peace Bird and Bosideng.

• The first 10 minutes after the final sales spike started at 8pm on November 10, sales of 600 apparel brands increased eight times year-on-year.

• The transaction volume of luxury products in the first 10 minutes increased by 180% year-on-year. Rimowa, the luxury luggage brand, saw a year-on-year increase of three times in terms of transaction volume in the first two hours.

• Sales of beauty brands also surged on JD. In the first four hours, the transaction volume of over 20 brands including Helena Rubinstein and L’Occitane increased 100% on a year-on-year basis.

• In the first four hours, the transaction volume of 100 brands in the home appliances category, including Haier and LG, exceeded those of the whole day of November 11 last year.

• In the first 10 minutes, the transaction volume of Xiaomi, Huawei, Samsung and many other mobile phone brands increased four times year-on-year. The transaction volume of iPhones surpassed RMB 100m yuan in two seconds.

• The transaction volume of nutrition products for pets increased 12 times in the first 10 minutes.

• As of 10am on November 11, the online consultation service for cats increased by 230% monthly and consultation for dogs increased by 200%.

• Users from lower-tier markets account for 77% of all users for JD’s Singles’ Day Grand Promotion this year.

• For example, the transaction volume of dishwashers and sweeping robots increased two to three times, with some smart home appliances increasing five to 10 times.

Lazada

• It took nine minutes for the Alibaba-owned platform to cross $11m in sales.

• The biggest order had 191 items.

• The top three categories were electronics, beauty and small home appliances.

• The digital category had the strongest growth compared to last year, with bubble tea vouchers taking up a large proportion of purchases.

• One in five Singapore residents shopped on Lazada by 6pm, with six more hours to go before the end of the biggest one-day sale.

• This 11.11, the number of LazMall brands and local sellers taking part in 11.11 is 40% more than last year.

• “The sales and traffic we are seeing today demonstrate Singaporeans’ love for shopping and appetite for e-commerce. Our early approach toward working with our delivery partners even ensured that some midnight orders were delivered this morning,” says James Chang, chief executive officer of Lazada Singapore.

Shopee

• The Singapore-based platform reported that shoppers across the region bought over 2bn items throughout the festival period, smashing its previous record in 2020.

• This peaked on November 11, with visits spiking 5.5 times in the first two hours compared to an average day.

• Outside of major cities, there was a five-time increase in the number of shoppers from rural and smaller towns.

• Shopee’s mobile wallet ShopeePay saw more shoppers use the wallet to pay for their orders seamlessly, especially outside big cities where ShopeePay transactions grew nine times from an average day.

• Local sellers benefited from the spike in shopping activity, with those joining 11.11 for the first time seeing their orders on November 11 soar 18 times compared to an average day.

• Shopee Mall continued to attract many shoppers who were drawn to attractive offers and exclusive deals from their favorite brands.

• Shopee Premium brands saw sales surge by an average of 50 times on November 11 compared to the week before.

• One user in Singapore spent over $25,000 in a single order, buying camera equipment and football-related merchandise.

• More Singaporeans bought snacks and beverages, home care supplies and food staples from Shopee Supermarket.

• Demand for beauty and personal care continued to grow in Singapore, with over 250,000 skincare products sold at 11.11 Big Sale this year.

• 300,000 hours of livestreams were watched on Shopee Live across the 11.11 sales period.

• “The digital economy continues to present many opportunities for growth, and we want to enable more people to benefit from this growth by increasing e-commerce adoption and helping more consumers and businesses come online,” says Zhou Junjie, chief commercial officer at Shopee.