Editor’s Note
This year’s Double 11 shopping festival highlights a resilient consumer market driven by AI innovation and platform interconnectivity, with domestic brands capturing significant growth. The trend underscores a shift towards smarter, more integrated retail experiences.
On November 12, the China-Singapore Jingwei Research Institute, in collaboration with the China International Electronic Commerce Center Research Institute and Inspur Zos Data, released the “2024 Double 11 Consumption Insights Report” (hereinafter referred to as the “Report”). The Report indicates that during this year’s Double 11 period, the overall consumer market showed a steady growth momentum, with domestic brands performing exceptionally well, Generation Z leading the trend of “Guochao” (national trend) consumption, and the boosting role of AI (Artificial Intelligence) technology in e-commerce shopping becoming increasingly evident.
The Report shows that from October 14 to November 11, 2024, online retail sales exceeded 1.9 trillion yuan, with a year-on-year growth rate exceeding 8%. The top three industries by sales were clothing, footwear, hats, and textiles; daily necessities; and household appliances and audio-video equipment. In terms of sales share on major platforms, Tmall and JD.com ranked first and second, respectively.
The research team also conducted an online questionnaire survey. The results show that this year’s Double 11, besides focusing on price, cost-effectiveness, and brand, consumers placed greater emphasis on the shopping experience, and the trend of rational consumption became more pronounced.
The performance of domestic brands is remarkable. The Report shows that during this year’s Double 11, domestic brands continued to perform strongly in the market, occupying 7 out of the top 10 spots in sales. This indicates that domestic brands are not only gradually catching up with international brands in terms of product quality and technological innovation but are also gaining high recognition from consumers in terms of cultural value and emotional identification.
Influenced by the gold rush, domestic gold jewelry brands performed exceptionally well. Products with Chinese cultural connotations and elements, such as new Chinese-style jewelry, new Chinese-style dresses, Song brocade, museum cultural and creative products, and intangible cultural heritage goods, saw sales increases exceeding 50%. The combination of traditional culture and fashion elements has become a hot topic among Generation Z consumers.
Wang Wei, former Director and Second-Level Researcher at the Market Economy Research Institute of the Development Research Center of the State Council, pointed out that the cultural identity of Generation Z brings new business opportunities for brands. Brands that can resonate emotionally with consumers are more likely to stand out in competition.
Interconnectivity between e-commerce platforms was a key feature of this year’s Double 11, becoming an important factor driving sales growth. The widespread application of AI technology further facilitated shopping convenience and boosted sales.
The Report points out that interconnectivity, on one hand, optimized the consumer payment experience and improved delivery efficiency; on the other hand, it reduced merchants’ operational costs. The gradual elimination of barriers between platforms enhanced the capabilities of infrastructure such as payment and logistics, allowing users to flow freely between different e-commerce platforms, which had a clear positive effect on promoting consumption.
Jia Kang, Founding Dean of the China Academy of New Supply-Side Economics, shared this view.
Beyond interconnectivity, another notable new technology comes from AI. Major e-commerce platforms utilized AI technology to optimize multiple aspects such as product recommendations, customer service experience, and supply chain management, significantly improving shopping efficiency and user satisfaction, directly driving merchants’ sales conversion rates.
Li Mingtao, Chief E-commerce Expert at the China International Electronic Commerce Center, stated.
The Report points out that this year’s Double 11 saw new consumption trends mainly reflected in the return of rational consumption, a balance between price and quality, emphasis on shopping experience and service, new technologies enhancing the shopping experience, increased emotional and spiritual consumption, and refined livestreaming commerce. Among these, the most recognized by consumers was the return of rational consumption.
Cui Lili, Director of the E-commerce Research Institute at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, pointed out that refined operations bring many benefits to consumers, such as more personalized product recommendations, high-quality shopping experiences, and more convenient and efficient shopping methods. However, regarding some potential issues, such as excessive personalized recommendations possibly leading to information cocoons for consumers and limiting the diversity of consumption choices, Cui Lili reminded that consumers should remain rational and vigilant, avoiding over-reliance on recommendation algorithms; meanwhile, regulatory authorities should also strengthen supervision over data usage and algorithm recommendations.
Regarding some issues in major promotions that consumers are concerned about, Jia Kang suggested that in future Double 11 and 618 promotions, manufacturers should summarize existing promotional experiences, develop technology in step with the times, continuously innovate and improve promotional strategies, and better cater to consumer psychology to promote the sustainable development of the e-commerce industry.