“This year’s Double Eleven is expected to set a record for the highest number of buyers ever,” declared Wu Jia, Vice President of Alibaba Group and President of the Taotian User Platform, on the launch day of this year’s event. His confidence reflects a renewed anticipation in the industry following a period of relative quiet for major online sales events like Double Eleven and 618.
Experts suggest that while the major platforms and vendors remain the same, this year’s Double Eleven distinguishes itself by moving away from excessive competition.
Transitioning from “Price Wars” to “Value Creation”
“In the past, e-commerce platforms demanded that sellers undercut prices compared to competitors to participate in sales, leading to issues like the infamous ‘choose one’ problem,” noted Xiaotan, a long-time seller participating in Double Eleven. According to her, both merchants and consumers ended up as victims in a race to the bottom, where platforms competed primarily on price. Merchants often had to sacrifice a portion of their profits just to maintain good relations with the platforms, which didn’t guarantee consumers a truly valuable shopping experience.
Travel enthusiast Xiaopeng shares similar frustrations with the promotional strategies of Double Eleven. “Every year, I stock up on flight tickets and hotel bookings during the sales, convinced by the promotions. But later, when trying to book, I find there are no available times, or the actual options are scarce, leading to cancellations and returns.”
From the perspective of both merchants and consumers, sales events like Double Eleven and 618 initially drew users with innovative models but are now perceived as lacking real value, reducing their effectiveness in stimulating actual consumption.
The recent meeting of the Central Committee of the Communist Party highlighted the need for industry self-regulation and preventing “malicious competition” practices that have plagued the sector. In this context, this year’s Double Eleven serves as a test for e-commerce platforms looking to pivot away from harmful competition.
Ahead of Double Eleven, 1688 introduced several measures aimed at “anti-involution,” including support for merchants with efficiency-enhancing initiatives and the provision of free “AI business assistants.” “We will ensure that merchants retain at least a 10% net profit margin, essential for the potential transformation and upgrade of Chinese manufacturing,” an official from 1688 stated.
Targeting “Refund Only” Services
During the launch event for the 2024 Double Eleven, Alibaba Group Vice President and President of the Taobao Platform, Chen Weiye, pointed out that the industry faces three significant challenges: the overwhelming burden on merchants from “refund only” policies, the high costs of return shipping impacting low-margin products, and the downward spiral of price competition.
The topic of “refund only” gained traction online when discussions emerged about a washing machine controversy, reflecting broader concerns that “refund only” policies have morphed into a serious issue. Initially, firms like Amazon introduced this concept in 2017 to mitigate shipping costs and reduce dissatisfaction. However, as platforms began to use it as a competitive edge, it has turned into a concern for many merchants, devolving into a detrimental practice.
Data reveals that from July 2021 to September 2023, there were over 300 civil disputes involving merchants and consumers related to “refund only” requests, with several merchants claiming these requests infringe upon their rights.
Some consumers may exploit “refund only” to gain unfair advantages, such as deliberately damaging products to request refunds without returns. Hu Yongquan, a researcher at the E-Commerce Research Center, notes that merchants face economic losses not only from forfeited products but also from increased operational costs linked to handling such requests.
“Merchants no longer need to fear ‘refund only’ in after-sales scenarios,” announced Tao Tian Group during the launch of this year’s Double Eleven. The group has loosened restrictions surrounding “refund only,” decreasing intervention for high-quality merchants while enhancing the identification of abnormal behaviors. In the past month, over 400,000 unreasonable “refund only” requests have been intercepted daily.
From Price Wars to Enhanced Consumer Experience
JD.com’s CEO Xu Ran emphasized that rather than simply leveraging their traffic to pressure merchants, JD aims for a sustainable, mutually beneficial growth model. “Long-term success is achieved through superior consumer experiences alongside healthy partnerships with merchants,” he stated during the company’s “JD 11.11, Affordable and High Quality” launch.
This year, major platforms have shifted their focus during Double Eleven from just enticing consumers to also enhancing services for merchants. JD has introduced several AI tools for merchant testing, alongside live-streaming initiatives, hoping to double the number of small-scale merchants making daily sales exceeding $1,500 compared to last year.
This year’s Taobao Double Eleven also simplifies the promotional structure for consumers, emphasizing transparent pricing with less reliance on complex sales strategies. Tao Tian Group highlighted a significant investment—over a billion RMB—dedicated to driving traffic to merchants, alongside substantial subsidies. They report over six million new stores have opened, with merchant participation surpassing expectations.
Meanwhile, for the 1688 platform, new merchants are guaranteed business support aimed at minimizing obstacles to entry during Double Eleven. The platform is initiating substantial flow subsidies, with promotional exposure significantly increasing, and average costs dropping, thus enhancing market viability for emerging sellers.
