Alibaba Group officially kicked off the 13th 11.11 Global Shopping Festival series of events. This shopping festival carries the theme of being environmentally friendly and inclusive.
"Over the past 12 years, 11.11 has presented the enormous consumption power of Chinese consumers and has driven the global retail sector," said Alibaba Group Chief Marketing Officer Chris Tung.
"This year's festival marks a new page for 11.11. We believe that we must harness the power of 11.11 to drive sustainable growth and promote inclusiveness for consumers, merchants and partners across the ecosystem."
Alibaba claims this year's event will be the biggest festival, with a record 290,000 brands participating. Tmall offers more than 14 million promotions to 900 million consumers in China. This year's festival will be held again in two sales periods, namely the first period on November 1-3, and the second period as well as the peak event on November 11.
Livestreaming will also play a major role in the main interaction mechanism between consumers, brands and merchants, to expand reach and drive sales.
Starting October 20, during the Festival, Taobao Live will feature 700 Key Opinion Leaders, artists, and brand representatives in livestreaming sessions. In addition, Taobao will also launch a new feature for users where they can share a "shopping cart" with friends and family, to create a more interactive shopping experience.
Environmentally friendly
At 11.11 this year, Tmall will present a variety of high energy efficiency and minimal environmental impact products with energy efficiency and low impact, as well as distribute "green" vouchers worth a total of 100 million yuan to encourage shopping decisions that contribute to an environmentally friendly lifestyle.
Alibaba's logistics unit Cainiao Network will introduce package recycling centers at more than 10,000 Cainiao Post Stations in 20 cities, to reduce the festival's carbon footprint from November 1, the first day of the 11.11 sales period.
Through these various green initiatives and technologies, Alibaba hopes to further reduce carbon emissions from every purchase transaction, during 11.11 this year.
Share goodness
Supporting people who need more access is also one of the main themes of this year's festival. Previously, the Taobao app has launched "Senior Mode" which is designed to make the app easier to use for elderly users.
This feature offers voice assistance technology, easier navigation, and larger text and images. The home page of the application also offers various games that can be played by elderly users and the opportunity to get special shopping discounts, thereby enhancing the shopping experience that is more interesting for the elderly.
Consumers are encouraged to share their "Goods for Good" purchases with friends and family. Later, Alibaba will donate 1 yuan for each upload on social media.
Launched in 2006, Alibaba's "Goods for Good" program makes it easy for merchants to donate a portion of their sales to selected organizations.
Consumers can also support their favorite charities through purchases. Donations from this year's festival will be channeled to support three community groups, namely the elderly who live alone, neglected children in remote areas, and low-income workers.
