Survey: Chinese Consumers Expect To Spend More On Alibaba’s 2020 Singles’ Day

“Singles’ Day” in China is a 24-hour shopping marathon that boasts the biggest sales on earth of any day of the year.

However, this year’s Singles Day shopping extravaganza, which was shaped into its current form in 2009 by Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang, could prove to be disappointing to some American brands, a new survey by AlixPartners finds.

The majority of Chinese consumers surveyed by AlixPartners – a formidable 57 percent – say they will buy fewer American brands and products on Singles Day come Nov. 11. And so as there is no mistaking the message Chinese consumers are sending, 62 percent say it is patriotism, not pocketbook issues, that is driving the decision.

In fact, that’s up 11 points from last year, when just a little over half of those surveyed in China cited patriotism as the reason for planning to buy fewer American goods during the 2019 installment of Singles Day, according to AlixPartners.

A considerably smaller number of those surveyed say they plan to buy fewer European goods and brands this year, at just under 40 percent.

However, if results of the survey are any indicator, eCommerce should still get a big boost from Singles Day 2020. With restrictions on traveling overseas due to the coronavirus crisis, the substantial number of Chinese consumers still open to buying products from overseas will be looking to eCommerce to make that happen, the survey reports.

A very large 82 percent of those surveyed said they plan to buy products via cross-border eCommerce, with Chinese consumers still appreciative of the quality of foreign brands and goods.

“The reasons given for buying cross-border products remain similar to last year, proving that consumers still buy outside China for quality, trustworthiness and better product design,” AlixPartners notes.

Just under a third – or 30 percent – said that not being able to travel overseas made them more likely to turn to eCommerce to buy goods and brands from outside China this year.

Still, only 17 percent said they plan to spend more than 3000 RMB, or just under $450, on cross-border products, according to AlixPartners.