Jack Ma dreamed and did not expect: This year’s ‘Single Day’ does not have an LED screen to show off great revenue, no one dares to ‘explode’ achievements

Today (November 11) is “Single Day” in China and also the day of the largest shopping festival in the world with a series of promotions from e-commerce giants such as Alibaba, JD.com.

However, unlike every year, this year’s event is a bit quieter when these platforms do not show off their huge revenue increasing every minute on LED screens. Executives also did not comment on any Singles Day achievements. This change comes in the context of the Chinese government’s continuing campaign to tighten control of technology corporations.

The LED screen shows off Alibaba’s Singles Day achievements last year (Image: Internet).

Singles’ Day was started more than a decade ago and for many years was a 24-hour event. But Alibaba and its rivals have turned 11/11 into an 11-day shopping spree, culminating in November 11. Even many platforms have started to reduce prices, launching special offers from the beginning of October.

Thanks to the trend of “hunting sale” with smartphones by Chinese consumers, “Single Day” has surpassed “Black Friday” in the US.

Platforms operated by Alibaba and its competitor JD.com reported combined revenue of $115 billion during last year’s 11/11 shopping spree. Singles Day has become a closely watched consumer sentiment gauge in the country of billions of people. This year, however, it is unclear whether the platforms will announce sales revenue when the event ends.

Many e-commerce platforms in China have had to “bow” to the country’s government scrutiny, which is intended to limit monopolistic business. In addition, it is suggested that another cause is concern that Big Tech has become too big and difficult to control.

Even so, some information reveals that consumer spending on Singles Day remains high. The Covid-19 pandemic has contributed to a push to buy online, in part because many localities discourage in-person shopping in crowded stores. Alibaba said hundreds of brands had a stronger start to November 1 than the same period last year. However, the company did not disclose specific figures.

Increased government surveillance has shaken giants like Alibaba, Tencent and JD.com in recent times. Earlier this month, Zhang Yiming, founder of TikTok’s parent company, resigned as the company’s chairman. Before that, he stepped down as CEO in May.

Recently, many founders of China’s most famous technology companies have stepped down from their positions of business executives as the government tightens the business of billionaires.

About a week before Zhang resigned as Chairman, Su Hua – co-founder of short video application Kuaishou also announced his departure from the CEO position. Previously, Colin Huang – founder of e-commerce company Pinduoduo, also resigned as Chairman and CEO. And Jack Ma has resigned as Chairman of Alibaba since 2019.

Alibaba lost ground late last year, after Jack Ma publicly criticized China’s regulators. The company was later fined $2.75 billion for violating antitrust laws. Several other tech giants suffered the same fate, fined and restricted from doing business.

Last weekend, the Chinese government even issued special guidance on “Singles Day”, banning platforms from exaggerating product effectiveness, falsely claiming discounts or selling counterfeit goods. .

Source: AFP