Not as Prime as Single's Day | EMQQ
During 2019, Amazon (AMZN) extended its Prime Day sale promotion to two days. The event spanned 15th and 16th July and was a record for the company. Yet, the event did not come close to the sales volume generated by Single’s Day (11/11) in China during which Chinese ecommerce company Alibaba (BABA) experienced record volume.
Investors may be able to
participate in the potential of ecommerce in China, and the upcoming Single’s
Day event, through the purchase of Alibaba (BABA) shares.
Amazon's Prime Day
In July 2015, Amazon turned
20. On the eve of its birthday, the company introduced Prime Day, a global
shopping event. Its goal was to offer its Prime members better shopping
deals than Black Friday (the Friday after Thanksgiving). Over the five
Prime Days since, the event has continued to grow.
According to an article on
Yahoo Finance, 2019, was Amazon’s largest Prime Day [1]. The article noted that analysts estimate that over $6 billion in sales were
generated during the two-day event.
While Amazon didn’t
disclose its sales, it did note that sales at third-party vendors--made up
mostly by independent small- and medium-sized businesses--doubled over the
period to $2 billion. The company said it sold more than 175 million items over
the course of the event, up from 100 million items last year, according to
Yahoo Finance.
An
Opportunity to Sign Up New Members
Amazon looks at its
Prime Day event as an opportunity to sign up new members to its Prime
platform.
Yahoo Finance noted that
Amazon said in a statement that it “welcomed more new Prime members on July 15
than on any previous day, and almost as many on July 16 – making these the two
biggest days ever for member signups.” This may help the company generate
more in recurring revenues and help to offset the costs of the event.
Not as Prime as Single's Day
While impressive, sales
during Prime Day do not come close to those generated during Single’s Day, the
world’s largest shopping day, according to Forbes [2].
Single’s Day is a holiday
popular among young Chinese people that celebrates their pride in being single.
The event began as a protest of sorts against Valentine’s Day, propelled by
college students in the 1990s. The date 11/11 is significant because of the
solitary implications of the number 1.
Single’s Day really came
into prominence in 2009, when Alibaba turned the holiday into an online — and
occasionally brick-and-mortar — mercantile extravaganza. As a result,
Single’s Day has become linked with Alibaba.
Single's Day Record Sales Volume
2018’s Single’s Day
generated record sales volume of $30 billion for Alibaba [3]. While the company’s sales were impressive, the company reported additional
staggering numbers. Over 1 billion orders were processed by Cainaio,
Alibaba’s logistics company. The company’s website recorded sales of over
RMB 100 million ($14.9 million) across 237 brands [4].
Alibaba expanded the focus
of its Single’s Day event outside of China into parts of Southeast Asia and
even the United States. It also used the event to drive sales for its new
retail platform – a strategy that blends both online and brick-and-mortar
retailing.
Summary
Single’s Day still reigns
as the world’s largest shopping day, reflecting the potential of consuming
class in China. While Alibaba was the prime beneficiary of the event
during 2018, other Chinese ecommerce platforms, such as JD.com (JD), also
benefited.
Investors looking to gain
exposure to the potential expansion of the consumer class in the emerging
markets may do well to consider buying shares of the Emerging Markets Internet and Ecommerce UCITS ETF (EMQQ).
Find out more about the Emerging Markets Internet & Ecommerce UCITS ETF (EMQQ) here.
Read our EMQQ Whitepaper "The Great Confluence" here.
Article Date: 13th August 2019.