Alibaba moderates sales campaign for “Singlemen’s Day” in China

Alibaba Group’s annual “Singles Day” shopping spree has taken a more restrained slant this year, as the online retail giant has embraced a sustainability discourse rather than encouraging an explosion in sales amid advocating for pursuit of the “common prosperity” advocated by the Chinese government.

Compared to last year, the 2021 event comes amid a government oversight campaign on China’s biggest companies – including Alibaba – and aimed at promoting the “common good” and curbing excess. With that, this year, Alibaba is formally promoting “sustainable development” and “inclusion”.

While celebrities on live broadcasts and deep discounts still play a big role in this year’s festivities, the company said its priorities are encouraging “environmentally friendly consumption” and “supporting vulnerable populations.”

Last week, Chinese regulators said they warned e-commerce sites to curb sending spam ahead of Singles Day. Regulators have also drawn up a list of responsibilities they expect platform companies to fulfill.

In September, Alibaba said it would invest 100 billion yuan (US$16 billion) by 2025 in support of “common prosperity,” while in October it launched a senior-friendly version of its Taobao e-commerce platform.

For this year’s Singles Day, the company also said it will develop new products with lower carbon footprints with partners and has committed to making charitable donations.

In response to questions from Reuters, Alibaba said that “11/11 (Single People’s Day) is a powerful and influential tool that we will take full advantage of to champion and drive our ESG (environmental, social and governance) initiatives this year.”