Alibaba Group (China) concluded its largest-yet 6.18 Mid-Year Shopping Festival last week, setting new record highs across categories, the company said in a statement.
Brand participation this year surged in what was the biggest sales event since the outbreak of Covid-19, with the number of Tmall brands nearly doubling from last year.
Small and medium-sized businesses on Alibaba’s Taobao Marketplace also received a billion more orders during this year’s campaign year-over-year.
Going beyond just using the e-commerce platform to sell products, brands worldwide made use of Tmall’s growing array of digital engagement tools – from livestreaming and augmented-reality filters to test out hair and makeup to branded games and 3D shopping technologies – to reconnect with consumers and generate growth in the wake of the pandemic.
Taobao Live, Alibaba’s dedicated livestreaming channel, saw overall number of sessions increasing 123% year-on-year. The platform had contributed RMB5.1 billion ($721 million) in sales on just the opening day.
The GMV – defined as the total value of orders settled through Alipay on Tmall Global – of imported products sold on the platform during 6.18 increased by 43% compared to last year.
There were double the number of transactions involving goods shipped via its Tmall Overseas Fulfillment program – an initiative that allows brands to store their products at a dedicated TOF warehouse for sale on the platform, making it a low-risk method to test the waters in the China market before making a full-fledged entry.
The campaign provided a window onto how online retail is giving a boost to brands and merchants coming out of lockdown.
