Double 11 in 2021 has already begun. Recently, some foreign media have noticed that this year’s “Double 11” shopping carnival season has changed compared to the past. The Reuters report pointed out that although live stars and large discounts still play an important role in this year’s celebrations, from the perspective of e-commerce platforms, this year’s focus is to encourage “environmental consumption” and “support the disadvantaged.”
“We have been shifting our focus from pure GMV growth to sustainable growth,” Alibaba Chief Marketing Officer Dong Benhong said in an interview with Reuters.
Reuters recalled that in September, Alibaba stated that it would invest 100 billion yuan (US$16 billion) to support “common prosperity” by 2025, and in October it launched a version of the Taobao app tailored for seniors. .
In this year’s Double 11, Alibaba also stated that it will work with partners to develop new low-carbon products, and promises to make charitable donations along with some shopping behaviors.
Alibaba told Reuters: “Double 11 is a powerful and influential platform, and we will make full use of it this year to advocate and promote our ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) initiatives.”
It is understood that a record 290,000 brands will participate in Double 11 this year, and Tmall will have a total of more than 14 million products participating in discounts. At the same time, this year Tmall released a double 11 carbon reduction plan, double 11 entered a low-carbon time, and launched the first green venue.
Compared with previous years, this year’s “Double 11” started earlier than in previous years, but the publicity appears to be low-key. Under the sales method of live broadcasting, the outside world is concerned about the consumption power of Chinese consumers. However, it is worth noting that social responsibility and green development have become the industry features of Double 11 this year. It is understood that in terms of logistics, many express packaging boxes and fillings can be recycled. At present, many express delivery companies have begun to gradually promote the use of recyclable express boxes and recyclable packaging bags.
In terms of “green computing”, Internet technology companies have also begun to optimize resources through technological innovation. For example, under the premise of ensuring service stability, reasonable allocation of computing resources and improvement of resource utilization efficiency can also reduce the use of servers, thereby reducing carbon emissions.
Although this year’s Double 11 emphasizes ESG more, Reuters reported that as Chinese consumers seek cost-effective products amid slowing economic growth, it is expected that Double 11 events will bring huge sales revenue to merchants.
At present, “Double 11” has changed from one day to a large-scale shopping festival spanning October and November, covering online and offline. According to a report in the Global Times, Li Hanqing, deputy director of the Research Office of the Market Economy Research Institute of the Development Research Center of the State Council, said recently that this year’s “Double 11” will start earlier than previous years. Retail sales have an obvious pulling effect.