Singles' Day Price Wars
PDD and Douyin seize territory from Alibaba and JD in Double 11
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"Double 11" (双十一 shuāng shíyī) is China's largest online shopping festival.
Also known as Singles' Day, the two-week shopping showdown concludes on 11 November every year, hence the name "Double 11".
Another way to say Singles’ Day is 光棍节 guānggùnjié. “Bald stick” (光棍) is a colloquial way to say “bachelor” in Chinese.
The festival was started by e-commerce giant Alibaba Group in 2009.
Today, Alibaba's two main e-commerce platforms, Tmall 天猫 and Taobao 淘宝, are responsible for nearly half of all sales transacted during Double 11. JD.com, another e-commerce platform, is the third largest player.
Consumers have started to lose interest in Singles’ Day:
The hottest topic on social media this year is: "Is Double 11 no longer making sales?" 63% of netizens even believe that Double 11 is no longer necessary and has lost its original significance. The comment with the highest number of likes was "I have no money and don't want to shop. I can save money by continuing using what I have."
最火热的话题，竟是“双十一是不是卖不动了”，有63%的网友甚至认为双十一已没有存在的必要，失去了原本的意义。获赞数最高的评论便是网友“我没说你呀”的留言，“没钱，不想买，省省还能用。 [1]
But there are still plenty of people buying this year:
Although it seems that this "Double 11" has failed to attract attention, the number of parcels and online retail sales of physical goods have increased.
因此，尽管这个“双十一”看似冷清，邮政快递、实物商品网上零售额的数据均出现增幅。 [1]
Two relative new-comers are Dǒuyīn 抖音, a video streaming platform owned by ByteDance, and Pīnduōduō 拼多多, an online retailer which dominates China's second- and third-tier markets.
PDD and Douyin compete heavily on price with Alibaba and JD all year-round, through live-stream e-commerce (电商直播 diànshāng zhíbō).
During Singles’ Day, PDD and Douyin pushed merchants on their platforms even harder on pricing:
When talking about Pinduoduo and Douyin, many merchants said that the two platforms expect aggressive pricing, receiving product price reduction reminders such as a 50% discount. If merchants refuse, they will be kicked out of the traffic allocation by algorithms, which means if they do not cooperate and cut prices, they will get no traffic. On Douyin, merchants often work with influencers for live-stream broadcasts. Mid-sized influencers will also demand “lowest price” contracts with brands. [2]
谈及拼多多、抖音这两个渠道，多位商家均表示其对低价的要求更为严苛。前者常常会直接由系统通知给商品降价的提醒，譬如打五折，商家拒绝后直接会被踢出流量分配池，即不配合降价就没有流量；在抖音上，商家多与平台主播合作直播带货，中腰部主播也会要求“底价”。 [2]
In response to increased competition, Alibaba priced aggressively in the run-up to Singles' Day, with one-off discounts of up to 50% offered on 80 million products.
Meanwhile, JD started a 10 billion yuan (US$1.4 billion) product subsidy campaign in March, and offered a “best-price guarantee” on more than 800 million products. The e-commerce giant promised to compensate customers for the price difference if they found a cheaper product within a month.
Both platforms said they achieved sales growth during this year’s Singles’ Day shopping festival, with JD achieving "record breaking" sales.
Despite the positive tone, this is the second year in a row that Alibaba and JD did not publish exact sales numbers.
Consumer caution in the tepid covid recovery is partly to blame. But attacks from Douyin and PDD are also a factor:
Behind this year’s Double 11, there are much deeper changes taking place: Before a new paradigm is formed, new-comers will take advantage of the changes to make big gains, while incumbents will look to keep their position of strength, and launch counterattacks.
今年双十一，背后更深的看点在于“格局谋变”：新格局未定之下，后入局者借变化之际攻城略地，图谋一击制胜；先入者则意欲在守住壁垒的同时，发起反攻。
This year's Double 11 was also not without controversy.
China's top live-stream influencer, Austin Li (李佳琦 Lǐ Jiāqí), a favourite of this newsletter, has been caught up in a "lowest price deal" (底价协议 dǐjià xiéyì) scandal with electronics brand Hauswirt (海氏 hǎi shì) which backfired:
It turns out that Hauswirt has signed a "lower price agreement" with Li Jiaqi's company, guaranteeing that the price given to Li will be the lowest on the entire Internet. If there is a cheaper one on the market, it will pay a huge sum of money to Li. However, JD subsidised price cuts of Haiwirt’s products, which are now cheaper on that platform.
原来海氏跟李佳琦公司签过“底价协议”，保证给李佳琦的一定是全网最低价，如果市面上有更便宜的在卖，我就赔巨款。然而，京东此次自掏腰包补贴，海氏的产品在京东上破价了。
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Favourite Five
1. 破价 pò jià
breaking the marketed/lowest price, hit a new low
对于卖标品的品牌来说，被「破价」这件事特别敏感 - Brands selling standard products are particularly sensitive to being priced below the lowest price agreed. [3]
Note: This refers to when brands or platforms “break” the lowest price agreed between other platforms.
2. 满减 mǎn jiǎn
once a certain amount is reached, there will be a certain discount
均重新打出了一件直降这张牌，配合平台补贴、跨店满减等 - They have all played the same card of direct discounts, in conjunction with platform subsidies, and cross-store discounts once a certain amount is reached. [2]
More: For example: if you fulfil 100 RMB (满100), then you get 10 RMB off (减10); if you buy 200 yuan, you get 20 yuan discount
Related:
凑单 còu dān - to meet the minimum purchase requirement
大促 dà cù - big promotion
秒杀 miǎo shā - flash sale
直降 zhí jiàng - direct discounts
3. 攻城略地 gōng chéng lüè dì
capture cities and seize territory
新格局未定之下，后入局者借变化之际攻城略地 - Before the new paradigm is formed, new-comers will take advantage of the changes to capture cities and seize territory. [2]
More: We discuss this in more detail in this week’s Phrase of the Week.
Related:
反攻 fǎn gōng - counterattack
攻城之势 gōng chéng zhī shì - momentum of attacking cities
4. 简单粗暴 jiǎn dān cū bào
simple and direct, straightforward
从多个电商巨头的玩法来看，今年双十一确实在重回“简单粗暴”地降价 - Looking at the tactics of various e-commerce giants, this year's Double 11 has indeed returned to direct price reduction. [2]
5. 全网最低价 quán wǎng zuì dī jià
lowest price across the entire internet
抖音商城、快手电商、小红书也分别在招商的价格规则中提及“全网最低价”这一关键词 - Douyin Shopping, Kuaishou E-commerce, and Xiaohongshu each used the key phrase “cheapest price across the entire internet" in their pricing rules for merchants. [2]
Related:
低价 dī jià - low price
底价协议 dǐ jià xié yì - bottom price agreement
Consuming the Conversation
Useful words
6. 冷清 lěng qīng
desolate, quiet and empty
今年的“双十一”好冷清 - This year's "Double 11" attracted very little traffic. [1]
Related:
冰点 bīng diǎn - freezing point
7. 脱敏 tuō mǐn
become desensitised
逐渐对花里胡哨的优惠脱敏，但仍然忍不住想看看能不能得到真实惠 - People gradually have become immune to flashy discounts, but still can't help wanting to see if one can get real benefits. [2]
Note: This can also be used to mean “remove sensitive content” from a document.
8. 激战 jī zhàn
intense battle, fierce competition
双十一低价激战的一个重要原因是，消费者与商家都正在发生着剧烈的变化 - An important reason for the intense low-price battle during Double 11 is that both consumers and businesses are changing dramatically. [2]
Related:
价格战 jià gé zhàn - price war
打持久战 dǎ chí jiǔ zhàn - fight a protracted war
9. 比价 bǐ jià
compare prices
消费者通过多年购买经历锻炼后，多了一项新的技能叫比价，这也意味着消费者对价格越来越敏感 - After years of shopping, consumers have gained a new skill of “price comparison”, which means that they are becoming increasingly sensitive to prices. [2]
10. 殆尽 dài jìn
almost exhausted, nearly depleted
新兴的增量市场已经几乎被这五家拓展殆尽 - This emerging new market has been almost completely squeezed dry by these five companies. [2]
11. 留量 liú liàng
retention of traffic
电商行业已从流量时代转换为‘留量’时代 - The e-commerce industry has transitioned from the era of web traffic to the era of user retention. [2]
Related:
流量 liú liàng - web traffic
引流款 yǐn liú kuǎn - traffic generating product, loss leader
Three-character phrases
12. 白热化 bái rè huà
white-hot, intense
电商玩家今年白热化的低价竞争 - E-commerce players are engaged in intense low-price competition this year. [2]
13. 薅羊毛 hāo yáng máo
to exploit benefits, take advantage of promotions
薅羊毛的事情从来都少不了我，商家倒闭了关我屁事 - If there are promotions, I'll always be there. If a business closes because of that, why should I care? [3]
14. 赚吆喝 zhuàn yāo he
gain attention
商家陷入赚钱还是赚吆喝的矛盾之外，还带来了新的挑战 - Businesses are not only caught in the dilemma of whether to make money or just gain attention, they also face new challenges. [2]
Idioms
15. 遍地开花 biàn dì kāi huā
everywhere, ubiquitous (positive connotations)
除了遍地开花的折扣，直播卖货也在一定程度上降低了“双十一”的吸引力 [1] - In addition to the discounts seen everywhere, livestream selling has also diminished the appeal of "Double 11" to some extent.
16. 返璞归真 fǎn pǔ guī zhēn
return to simplicity, go back to basics
试图让15岁的双十一返璞归真 - Attempting to make Double 11 what it intends be at its 15th anniversary. [2]
17. 风云突变 fēng yún tū biàn
sudden and drastic change in the situation
这也造就了当下中国电商竞争格局的风云突变 - This has also led to a sudden and drastic change in the competitive landscape of China's e-commerce industry. [2]
18. 开足马力 kāi zú mǎ lì
apply full force, go all out
今年以来，重回低价策略的京东开足马力 - Since the beginning of the year, JD.com, returning to its low-price strategy, has gone all out. [2]
Note: Same as "all in" - 全力以赴 quán lì yǐ fù
19. 层出不穷 céng chū bù qióng
emerge one after another, in endless succession
消费者也因各类购物节层出不穷，逐渐对花里胡哨的优惠脱敏 - Consumers have gradually become immune to flashy discounts, because there have been too many shopping festivals.[2]
20. 花里胡哨 huā lǐ hú shào
flashy, gaudy
还是喜欢以前的双十一，想买的东西真便宜当天下单就行了，没有这些花里胡哨的玩法 - I still prefer the old Double 11. If the things you want to buy are indeed cheaper, you just place the order on the same day. No need for these flashy discount rules. [2]
Phrases
21. 云里雾里 yún lǐ wù lǐ
confused
不需要熬夜抢优惠券，也没有太多云里雾里的规则 - There’s no need to stay up late to grab coupons, and there aren't too many confusing and mystifying rules either. [1]
22. 席卷而来 xí juǎn ér lái
sweep through, overwhelm
早在10月初，各大电商平台今年拼“低价”的决心与力度，便铺天盖地地席卷而来 - As early as the beginning of October, the determination and efforts of major e-commerce platforms to compete on "low prices" has been overwhelming. [2]
23. 刻在骨子里 kè zài gǔ zi lǐ
engraved in the bones, ingrained
京东零售CEO辛利军称“低价是京东刻在骨子里的基因” - JD Retail CEO Xin Lijun said, "Low prices are ingrained in JD's DNA." [2]
24. 羊毛出在羊身上 yáng máo chū zài yáng shēn shàng
wool comes from the sheep, the benefits come from the source, nothing comes for free
羊毛出在羊身上，只是看出在 A 羊身上还是 B 羊身上而已 - The benefits come from the source; it's just a matter of whether they come from sheep A or sheep B. [3]
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