China’s e-commerce scene is unlike anywhere else in the world. With several e-commerce platforms that each have millions of products for sale, the scale is such that eventually, it will attract the attention of the rest of the world.
Singles Day, celebrated on 11 November in China each year, began in the early 1990s as a form of an Anti-Valentines Day – but Alibaba took it as an opportunity to create a one-day only sales event that has transformed the e-commerce scene globally. And while most Malaysians are only very recently exposed to this “11/11” sales in the last couple of years, Alibaba started its Singles Day sales way back in 2009.
This year promises to be the biggest Singles Day sales event ever – which shouldn’t be a surprise: each year, the sales figures for 11/11 sales have grown exponentially. In 2013, Alibaba recorded a gross merchandise volume valued at $5.14 billion, but in 2015 that figure jumped to 14.3 billion.
While 11/11 sales are now common across Asia, the time may have come to check out the original 11/11 sales proprietor. Alibaba’s Taobao and Tmall platforms have always offered affordable international shipping for orders outside of China, and with the upcoming Singles Day sales coming in less than two weeks, it could be worth checking out – and save more in the process.
One of the largest online catalogues in the world
Tmall is Alibaba’s B2C (business to consumer) e-commerce platform, with over 70,000 brand shops operating on the site. All items sold on Tmall are guaranteed to be genuine – to sell on Tmall, the entity is required to provide documentations to confirm the authenticity of the organisation, company, manufacturer, or brand. On each seller’s page, certificates of quality and compliance are also displayed to allow consumers to shop with confidence.
For 11/11, Tmall has a special microsite (1111.tmall.com) that lists all products on sale, as well as special promotions and events building up to the day. These include instantly redeemable red packets, shipping rebates, as well as special brand offers for 11/11.
In total, there are over 8 million products for sale on Tmall, with everything available even for international shoppers. The most popular items on the platform are usually clothes and household goods, but savvy Malaysian shoppers will also know that Tmall is the best place to find high quality and affordable digital accessories. From tempered glass screen protectors and smartphone cases all the way to PC cables, there is definitely something for everyone.
11/11 2017 Special Offers
For all shoppers, Tmall is offering red packets that can be instantly redeemable to offset the total purchase value or shipping charges. In total, Tmall is offering 170 million Yuan in red packets to shoppers that can only be used on 11 November. These red packets are similar to coupon codes or vouchers, but their value are randomly generated whenever you click on designated buttons.
Depending on the value of the red packet, international shipping fees can go down to as low as RM0 – that’s right, free international shipping to Malaysia.
On top of that, shoppers who are buying large amounts will also be happy to know that for shipping fees to South East Asia above 299 Yuan, they will get an instant 50 Yuan rebate. In addition, for shoppers who pay via e-banking using Malaysian banks on purchases above RM300, they will also receive an instant RM30 rebate off the total.
Easy registration
Finally, registering on Tmall is also exceptionally easy. Malaysians can even sign up for a Tmall account using their Malaysian mobile phone numbers, and start shopping right away. Needless to say, a Tmall account is also free for everyone.
With 11 November falling on a Saturday this year, Malaysians can shop online without distractions on the biggest one day sale ever. We shouldn’t have to point out that this is a once-a-year only sale, so if you miss out you’ll have to wait another year.
Find out more at 1111.tmall.com.
Disclosure: This article was sponsored by Taobao.
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