China gears up for world's largest online shopping festival
To help merchants cope with the impact from the coronavirus, online platforms have extended the shopping festival period this year in hopes of boosting sales. Some brands and merchants that slashed their prices booked hundreds of millions of yuan (tens of millions of dollars) in sales just hours into the shopping festival. โSome of these products are really cheap during the Singlesโ Day discounts.โUnlike Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the U.S., Singlesโ Day in China is not just about deep bargains. Alibaba pioneered the concept of Singlesโ Day and holds an annual gala on Nov. 11 with celebrity performances to entertain shoppers. Mini games within online shopping platforms entice shoppers with deeper discounts while encouraging them to spend more time within the app.