Entering its 14th year, how will we see Double 11 (aka Singles’ Day), the world’s largest online shopping festival, evolve? We expect to see a few key changes.

From Intense Promotion To Focusing On Content

For the first time, Alibaba’s Tmall shortened the promotion period by slightly delaying the presales start date to October 24 from 2021’s October 20, followed by two sales periods: October 31 to November 3, and November 10–11. On the other hand, JD.com introduced a new sales period, which they termed “Zhong Cao” (planting of grass) ahead of their regular presales period. Zhong Cao describes the effect of online content (such as the recommendations from influencers) that causes consumers to have the urge to buy a product, like planting a seed in their mind. Livestreaming sessions from brands and influencers are typical Zhong Cao content.

This year, both Tmall and JD.com have simplified their Double 11

No matter how volatile and uncertain the world can be, every holiday season brings us joy. In 2020, when stores were shuttered and society was dislocated, consumers showed remarkable resilience by spending on gifts that warmed the hearts of loved ones near and far. In 2021, despite supply chain crises, stubbornly high inflation, and the very transmissible Omicron variant, holiday retail sales had their largest annual increase in 17 years. This year, consumer sentiment in the US is at an all-time low, and uncertainty about inflation is at its highest point in 30 years. Nevertheless, history guides us to believe that shoppers will find reasons to celebrate this holiday season as they have for millennia.

To generate and harvest demand while expanding sell-through this holiday season, many marketers are turning to retail media. As they do, here are three things that they should bear in mind:

1. Budget flexibly