Alibaba is about to hold its annual Singles Day, which is the largest shopping day of the year for the eCommerce giant, according to a report by Reuters.
The company has plans for deep discounts, and singer Taylor Swift will perform as well. The event will be held on Monday (Nov. 11).
Alibaba, which is worth about $486 billion, is going through some growing pains as the company’s longtime chairman Jack Ma is stepping down. He is reportedly looking to make about $15 billion through a share sale.
The event was started in 2009 by then-Chairman and CEO Daniel Zhang. It is now the biggest online shopping event in the world, rivaling that of Cyber Monday and Black Friday.
Last year, the company saw $30 billion worth of sales on all platforms. Cyber Monday sales were at $7.9 billion. Regardless of the size of the event, its 27 percent growth in 2018 was the lowest amount in 10 years.
“This year will be the 11th 11.11 festival, with more than 200,000 brands participating, one million new products on offer and over 500 million users are expected to participate – about 100 million more than last year,” Alibaba said in a statement.
According to CNBC, Singles Day was originally launched for people not in a romantic relationship to celebrate themselves by making web purchases.
“Think of 11.11 as the Super Bowl for brands,” said Jiang Fan, president of Alibaba’s Taobao and Tmall businesses. “It’s an opportunity to pull out all the stops to wow Chinese consumers.”
About 24 percent of U.S. companies say they will run specials on Singles Day.
“Some of the most innovative marketing campaigns and new product launches are coming from U.S. brands this year,” Fan said. “I think all eyes are on us [and 11.11] each year to see what the future of retail looks like and how to best succeed in the China market.”
Alibaba is also looking to raise up to $15 billion in Hong Kong.
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