In the face of changing consumption habits and declining sales from online shopping festivals, Alibaba has cancelled Double 12 for 2023. What does this mean for international consumer brands involved in e-commerce in China?

Since the explosion of e-commerce in China over the past decade, a number of annual shopping festivals have come to dominate the e-commerce landscape, including 520 (20 May), 618 (‘Mid-Year Festival’ on 18 June), and the most famous of all, Double 11 (aka Singles’ Day).

Double 12 (held on 12 December) was created by Alibaba as an extension of Double 11 (which it also debuted but has since expanded to other platforms), aiming to spread sales across the quieter months of the year before Lunar New Year peak shopping season.

However, in late December, Alibaba quietly announced that it wouldn’t be holding Double 12 this year, replacing it with an ongoing shopping event dubbed “Year-End Good Price Festival” (年终好价节), which has been running since 9 December. Alibaba said that the Good Price Festival would actually have greater discounts, more products and more merchants than Double 12.

Other e-commerce platforms are continuing to run Double 12 promotions. For example, short video platform Douyin, which has taken an increasing share of online shopping festival profits in recent years, is offering a cross-store discount of 20% off for every RMB 150 spent across its online mall, and Pinduoduo is offering 30% off for every RMB 200 spent.

The move comes as online shopping festivals have seen sales driven down by reduced consumer confidence amid an economic downturn and the lingering effects of the Covid pandemic. 2023 was the second year that Alibaba didn’t release sales figures for Singles’ Day, but data provider Syntun estimates that Alibaba’s Tmall and other traditional e-commerce platforms like JD.com still achieved a staggering gross merchandise volume (GMV) of RMB 923.5 billion (£102.4 billion) during the festival.

In many ways, Alibaba cancelling Double 12 is a reflection of a wider trend – the e-commerce fervour of the last couple of years is becoming much more subdued. Brands are finding that it is no longer enough to simply throw discounts at the Chinese consumer or rely on big names.

Chinese consumers are certainly still doing their shopping online, but factors such as the crisis in the country’s real estate market, high youth unemployment, and fears of deflation are making them increasingly cost and value-conscious. The best-performing categories during this year’s Singles’ Day included household appliances and electronics, reflecting that consumers are still willing to spend on frequently-used items but are maybe dialling back spending on non-essentials. Conversely, however, consumers are still seeking small indulgences in categories like cosmetics and self-care, as well as experiences such as dining out and travel.

These trends have several implications for consumer brands in China. Firstly, declining GMV shouldn’t mean that brands abandon Singles’ Day and other festivals. Beyond sales, these festivals can be a great time to increase brand awareness and reinforce relationships with existing customers through targeted discounts and personalised service. Secondly, it bears thinking about how to spread sales beyond the specifically commercial shopping festivals and engaging more with traditional festive occasions like Mid-Autumn Festival or Chinese New Year. This might be achieved by taking a more localised approach to branding, such as creating culturally-sensitive limited edition festive products. This can help international brands to challenge the growing preference for local Chinese brands among demographics like Gen Z.