Text | Chang Tao
Editor | Lin Wansi
Reviewer | Luo Kun
Double 11 was born in 2009, and it is now in its 13th year. However, in the past two years, Double 11 has ceased to be a one-day event. Some consumers have been rushing for pre-sales since half a month ago. They complained on social platforms that Double 11 seems to be “watered”, the fun is gone and the taste is gone. Also faded.
Redefining Double 11
Double 11 was originally a one-day e-commerce promotion. It arrived at 0:00 on the 11th and the products were directly discounted. At that time, consumers were fighting for hand speed and internet speed.
However, there are more things to fight for on Double 11, such as the physical strength to deal with the long front, and the brain power to deal with various promotional rules.
Let me talk about physical strength first.
Starting in 2020, all platforms will extend the Double 11 front. Two main players,JingdongDouble 11 starts on October 21 and ends on November 11 for a period of 22 days. Tmall for the first time proposed the concept of “‘Double 11′ is 3 days longer than in previous years.” November 1st to 3rd is the first wave, and November 11th is the second wave, turning “Singles’ Day” into “Double Days” stick”.
This year’s Double 11 basically continued the rhythm of last year, and the frontline is “not the longest, only longer.” Jingdong Double officially opened the pre-sale at 8 pm on October 20, and paid the final payment at 8 pm on October 31, and fully released the price. The climax started at 8 pm on November 10. Tmall Double 11 will also start the pre-sale at 8 pm on October 20, continuing to use the “nunchaku” rhythm.
However, unlike last year, the pre-sales for Double 11 this year have all been advanced to 8pm. According to the platform, this is to prevent consumers from staying up late.
▲Photo courtesy of Ali
The “2021 Double Eleven Pre-sale Period Insight Report” released by QuestMobile shows that the prepayment and final payment strategy starting at 8 pm is more in line with user behavior and consistent with the most active period of users.
Why is the Double 11 front getting longer and longer? An insider of an e-commerce platform who did not want to be named told a reporter from China-Singapore Jingwei that the shopping festival front is stretched, and the platform is mainly to seize the advantages of publicity and business resources. “Starting early can seize the advantage of promotion as much as possible. In addition, after e-commerce bids farewell to the “choice of two”, businesses will operate on multiple platforms. The early start is also to compete for business resources.”
Internet analyst Ma Jihua told the China-Singapore Jingwei reporter that there is another important reason for the lengthening of the Double 11 front, which is “for the need to beautify the transaction volume.”
A reporter from China-Singapore Jingwei noticed that on Double 11 in 2020, Tmall changed the “custom” of trading data at the time point in the past, and turned into trading data for a period of time, so in previous years, “breaking XXX billion in 1 minute” and “breaking 10 billion” The scenes full of gunpowder like “it took a few minutes” disappeared, and it became “the real-time turnover has exceeded XXX billion yuan since midnight on November 1st”. On the other hand, Jingdong, another important player on Double 11, has always had the habit of posting the amount of orders placed in a certain period of time.
“Double 11’s transaction volume is also inwardly rolled out. When one platform stretches the battle line to increase the transaction volume, other platforms have to do the same.” Ma Jihua said.
Did you add water to Double 11?
Regarding why the Double 11 period has become longer, a person in charge of the platform during Double 11 in 2020 said that it is to bring consumers a better ordering and logistics experience. At the same time, in the post-epidemic era, a longer sales cycle is also More businesses provide new opportunities for growth.
This year the platform once again emphasized the consumer experience. Ali said that this year’s Double 11 will no longer emphasize the performance of market results, and does not emphasize competition, but to practice internal skills and pay attention to changes in consumer experience. JD.com also emphasized that more than 100 services will be upgraded on Double 11 this year.
However, being consumer-oriented should not be an empty marketing selling point, but should be implemented on the benefits of consumption. The double 11 front is stretched. Correspondingly, there should be more affordable products and more enjoyable shopping experiences, and various routines should not dilute the “genuine products” of Double 11.
Now Double 11 has evolved into a “brain-burning game” that lasts longer and longer. Final payment, cross-store full reduction, meow candy, shopping gold inflation…In addition to facing various specific terms, consumers must also remember the pre-sale date, deposit date, final payment date, specific red envelope date, maximum expiration date, and cross-border payment. Various preferential time periods such as the store shopping period and additional gifts and benefits. As a result, Weibo topics such as “I was driven crazy by the rules of Double Eleven” and “Me who can’t understand the rules of Double Eleven” were born.
▲ Screenshot of Weibo
Some netizens said that counting the Double 11 discount is equivalent to doing math problems, and even “harder than doing Mathematical Olympiad.” “I didn’t figure out how to buy the discount for a long time, and finally I didn’t want to buy anything.”
In addition to fighting brainpower, consumers must also guard against routines, such as “raise prices first and then lower prices.” Some consumers complained that they spent 850 yuan after buying various discounts on dog food on Double 11, but looking through the previous bills, they found that they usually only spent 665 yuan. Some netizens said that they encountered “false original prices” before Double 11. “Before Double 11, give an inflated original price, and then discount it. In the end, the price will be the same as usual.”
Reporter’s observation:
Consumers look forward to “authentic” and “ruly” Double 11
Double 11 has entered its 13th year and has become synonymous with strong consumption power, reflecting the vigorous vitality of China’s consumer market.
Consumers have also used real money to “smash” some consumption “new postures”, such as young people driving the rise of healthy consumption, national tide station C position, and service consumption exploding…
However, in the face of the dazzling refurbishment of Double 11, consumers are also a little overwhelmed and overwhelmed. Many people post on social platforms to miss the initial simple and rude Double 11 with limited-time discounts.
Double 11 has entered its 13th year, and the fight against chaos is in line with consumer expectations.
This year, Double 11 is the first Double 11 since the implementation of the “Interim Regulations on Standardizing Promotional Behaviors”. Regarding double 11’s first price increase and then discounts, rejection of unreasonable returns for seven days, and marketing SMS harassment, there have been frequent supervisions. Many industry insiders said that the biggest feeling this year is that the behavior of platforms and businesses has become more standardized.
Double 11 is getting longer and longer, and consumers are looking forward to getting a sense of full participation from this national carnival, and they want to really get more benefits. It is hoped that all parties will be more sincere, less routine, and return the “authentic” Double 11 to consumers.