Singles Day shopping spree to showcase of Alibaba's new retail strategy

Alibaba will use this year’s Singles Day shopping spree to highlight its new retail strategy by introducing digital capabilities to help brands and retailers link with consumers online and offline. 

Fifty central business districts in 11 domestic cities will join hands with the e-commerce giant to offer digital coupons on November 11 — Singles Day.

Over 1,000 brands will be offered through more than 100,000 offline retailers and boutique stores empowered by Alibaba’s digital capabilities, such as augmented reality, location-based technologies and payment services.

Chris Tung, chief marketing officer of Alibaba Group, said this year’s Tmall Shopping Festival would allow consumers to not only use their smartphones but also visit physical retail stores to embrace the new retail experience.

A total of 140,000 brands — with 60,000 being global brands — and 15 million products listings will be available for consumers through both online and offline channels. 

Chinese brands such as Mengniu and Heilan Group will also sell to international consumers through Tmall’s initiative, focusing on Southeast Asian markets initially.

This year, the countdown gala of Tmall Shopping Festival will be held in Shanghai’s Mercedes Benz Arena  on the night of November 10 and will be live streamed through Zhejiang TV, Shenzhen TV, Beijing TV and Alibaba-backed online video unit Youku.

Last year, US$17.8 billion were generated through Alipay from the 24-hour shopping spree, up 32 percent from a year ago.

Rival JD.com said its shopping festival would start today and last 12 days, with each day featuring discounts for a specific product category.