E-commerce giants Alibaba, JD.com keep Singles’ Day sales results under wraps amid China’s economic woes, zero-Covid-19 policy
- E-commerce rivals Alibaba and JD.com for the first time did not disclose final gross merchandise volume figures from their Singles’ Day promotions
- Alibaba said its final sales tally was in line with its GMV last year, while JD.com said its promotion this year achieved ‘record-breaking’ results
But in separate statements, both companies for the first time withheld announcement of their gross merchandise volume (GMV), or final sales tally, from the annual online and offline shopping extravaganza that culminates on November 11, known as “11.11”.
Alibaba, owner of the South China Morning Post, said its 14th annual 11.11 campaign “delivered results in line with last year’s GMV performance, despite macro challenges and Covid-related impact”. Alibaba’s GMV in November last year grew 8.45 per cent year on year to a record 540.3 billion yuan (US$84.5 billion), which marked the first single-digit GMV growth since the company created the shopping festival in 2009.
JD.com, by comparison, said it had set a “record-breaking” 11-day Singles’ Day promotion, which started on October 31. The Beijing-based company posted a total GMV of 349.1 billion yuan in the same period last year.
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China’s Singles’ Day tempered by strict Covid rules and slowing economy
Still, some industry analysts suggest that the GMV figures from this year’s Singles’ Day promotions paled in comparison from previous years. “Their results were probably too bleak to be revealed, so the platforms chose to keep them a secret,” said Li Weidong, a senior e-commerce analyst.
Singles’ Day is seen by many investors as a proxy for consumer spending in China as well as an important barometer of the country’s economic health.