From 2014 to 2024, Double 11 has shifted from competition to collaboration, with less tension and more harmony.

Written by Lan Dong Business | Zhao Weiwei

1

Is Double 11 suffering from aesthetic fatigue?

This question, which is constantly being repeated, has no clear answer. Looking back to Double 11 a decade ago, when Cai Chongxin was asked about the significance of Double 11 and where it was headed, his response, in retrospect, is fraught with historical metaphor: "Every year, it feels like it can't grow any bigger, but every year there are surprises."

At the time, this was a humble statement and a sign of anticipation.

It was 2014, and the outside world knew little about Cai Chongxin, often describing him as "the man behind Jack Ma." So when he appeared at the Tmall Double 11 Shopping Festival meet-up, he first recounted his meeting with Jack Ma to the unfamiliar media present.

The first time they met was in Hangzhou, and the second time, Cai's wife was pregnant with their first child. They felt the lively atmosphere at Lakeside Garden, where many people followed Jack Ma. Later, while rowing on West Lake, Cai expressed his desire to join Alibaba in starting a business. "Jack Ma was a bit surprised to hear that and almost jumped into the lake," Cai recalled.

This was Cai's first interview during Double 11, and his detailed and exaggerated descriptions were a common ice-breaking method in American-style speeches, naturally earning him goodwill.

At the meet-up, he also praised kindness as one of Jack Ma's most prominent traits. "Jack Ma trusts me very much, and he entrusts truly important matters to others. That's why Alibaba has been able to continue growing for 15 years. Because from its inception to today, the biggest bottleneck for the company is still people," Cai said.

That year was Tmall's sixth Double 11, with transactions exceeding 57.1 billion yuan. Over the next seven years, Double 11 transactions became an ever-expanding numbers game, peaking at 540.3 billion yuan in 2021, almost ten times the figure from seven years earlier. Since then, the number has never been disclosed again.

What can vast and specific numbers still prove? They are a focus and proof, and a way to dispel doubts.

At the time, Cai's judgment that "every year brings surprises" was based on a series of consumption figures. He referenced the composition of GDP, noting that 60%-70% of US GDP comes from consumption, while the figure for China is around 36%. "So there is still enormous room for growth in the future," he said.

History repeats itself. A decade later, Cai has taken over as Chairman of the Board from Daniel Zhang. In an interview with the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund, he once again spoke about joining Alibaba and meeting Jack Ma. He did not shy away from acknowledging that Alibaba had neglected user experience and pointed out the current reality of low consumer confidence.

Cai remains unchanged in his global perspective, using consumption figures to demonstrate future potential. "China's manufacturing output accounts for about 31% of the global total, but consumption accounts for only 14%, clearly indicating an imbalance," he said. "In China, consumption contributes slightly more than 50% to GDP, while in developed markets, it accounts for more than 70% of the economy."

However, this potential comes with caveats. Cai believes that the current state of the real estate and job markets are two critical factors affecting confidence and consumption. And the contrast between the two sets of figures spanning a decade suggests that surprises may no longer exist or belong to Alibaba, but the potential remains.

2

A decade ago, Double 11 was filled with joy and optimism.

The Xixi campus was ablaze with lights, and the LCD screens in the observation hall flashed with maps and timers as numbers jumped continuously. Predicting the transaction volume after midnight became the greatest source of entertainment for the audience, and Alibaba's market value on US stock markets briefly surpassed that of Walmart.

That year, Cai gave his first Double 11 media interview; Jack Ma appeared close to midnight to answer three questions, saying he wasn't concerned with the transaction figures but worried about logistics. It's difficult to verify when Wu Yongming first appeared at Tmall Double 11; at the time, he was Special Assistant to the Chairman of the Alibaba Group Board of Directors.

That year also marked the first public spat between Alibaba and JD.com over Double 11.

JD.com issued an open letter accusing Alibaba of using its registered Double 11 trademark to ban JD.com ads. In fact, JD.com's Double 11-themed ads subtly mocked Alibaba, reminding consumers not to "blindly shop" and urging them to "buy the real thing at the same price," while also mentioning various embarrassing scenarios after consumers bought fake goods.

This naturally provoked Alibaba's dissatisfaction, and the Double 11 trademark became a counterattack in the face-off.

Jack Ma clarified on CCTV's "Dialogue" program that "anyone is welcome to use the Double 11 trademark." The core idea of Double 11 is to become a day when all consumers can share joy, but if it becomes a day when merchants compete against each other, harm others, and prioritize their own interests, then trademark protection and the protection of Double 11 become crucial.

Provocations, criticisms, attacks, and even public spats became the norm for e-commerce platforms during Double 11.

One notable example occurred three years later, when Wang Shuai, then Chairman of Alibaba's Public Relations Committee, and Xu Lei, CMO of JD.com, engaged in a verbal spat. JD.com announced at noon on November 11 that its Double 11 sales had exceeded 100 billion yuan. Wang Shuai responded during a Taobao live stream, "As long as JD.com wants, it can count its entire year's orders as Double 11 sales. It's not a bad thing to make oneself happy, and in that case, Tmall's daily transactions would surely exceed JD.com's annual total."

A few hours later, Xu Lei responded on WeChat Moments, "This isn't a math problem; it's a logic problem. If you have the ability to keep merchants closed for over 20 days, I only have the ability to do business well for 11 days."

That era saw the fiercest competition among Double 11 merchants. Han Dudu, which grew with Taobao, was a focal point in the women's clothing category every year. That year, Han Dudu, JNBY, Peacebird, JASONWOOD, GXG, and other well-known domestic clothing brands disappeared from JD.com's platform, prompting JD.com to sue Tmall for "exclusive choice."

High-level squabbles like these have become rare, and past grudges have been laid to rest.

Cooperation seems to have become the main theme. This year's Double 11 saw Taobao and Tmall integrate with WeChat Pay, allowing direct access to Taobao links within WeChat. Later, JD.com Logistics also fully integrated with Taobao and Tmall. So, is the day when we can use Alipay on JD.com far off?

The decade-long feud between Taobao and JD.com has ended, and they are now joining forces against common enemies.

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Hearing the sound but not seeing the person might be the common portrayal of Double 11 today.

Xu Ran, CEO of JD.com, appeared at this year's "JD.com 11.11 – Cheap and Good" event in the form of an AI digital avatar. At Tmall Double 11's Global Shopping Festival media briefing, younger business line leaders spoke, while the absence of Taobao and Tmall CEO Wu Yongming was notable.

The only slightly contentious scene was the singing and dancing lyrics of JD.com's procurement and sales employees at the press conference, but their impact was limited since it was just a performance.

"Mixing genuine and fake goods, this can't be negotiated well," the lyrics satirized the chaos in live streaming e-commerce, such as Xiaoyangge's Mooncake scandal, Northeast Sister Yu's sweet potato vermicelli adulterated with tapioca starch, Li Jiaqi's question about whether netizens' salaries have increased, and the use of inferior meat in pre-cooked dishes. In contrast, JD.com highlighted its plan to recruit 10,000 procurement and sales employees to demonstrate its theme of "Cheap and Good" this year.

Alibaba is taking a similar approach, with a united front against external threats. During the Double 11 briefing, it also pointed out recent scandals involving top live streaming e-commerce anchors, emphasizing that live streaming e-commerce should enter the era of "quality live streaming" to demonstrate its advantages in quality control, after-sales service, and the overall e-commerce experience.

This year's Double 11 sees convergence in Taobao and JD.com's strategic goals. Deviating from last year's "lowest price across the network," Wu Jia, President of Taobao's User Platform Business Department, said that this year's Double 11 revolves around "quality and good price." Similarly, JD.com has shifted its focus to "Cheap and Good," downplaying last year's theme of "Truly Cheap, Buy with Confidence."

Low prices cannot save the day; it's a return to rationality.

A decade ago, Jack Ma said at Double 11, "No festival can sustain itself solely on discounts and low prices." This year, Alibaba Group Vice President and President of Taobao Platform Business Department Duan Chu also told the media, "We believe that blindly pursuing low prices will set back China's business environment, consumption, and manufacturing."

Taobao and JD.com's simultaneous choice to return to rationality during Double 11 is a strategic move to leverage their strengths against weaknesses and represents a collective correction by shelf e-commerce against live streaming e-commerce.

A decade ago, Double 11 was seen as an internet e-commerce declaration of war against traditional offline businesses. No one wanted to miss out on this opportunity for growth. At the time, Alibaba and JD.com were the stars of the Double 11 stage, but who were their rivals?

They may have been forgotten, but they included Amazon China, Yihaodian, GOME, Suning, as well as smaller players like Meilishuo, Mogujie, and even third-party service providers like Koudaitong and Weidian on WeChat. At the time, Suning's provocation of Alibaba was no less intense than JD.com's, with Suning proclaiming in ubiquitous advertisements: "For this TM Double 11, you deserve another choice."

Today, Double 11 has fulfilled its historical mission of enlightening Chinese consumers about e-commerce. Even Wu Jia said that this year's Tmall Double 11 is expected to have the highest number of buyers in history.

In the stable e-commerce landscape, the most prominent players are Alibaba, JD.com, Pinduoduo, Douyin, and Kuaishou. The latter three pose a more significant challenge to Alibaba and JD.com. Pinduoduo's low-price mindset is unshakeable, while Douyin and Kuaishou rely on their traffic advantages to build live streaming e-commerce ecosystems that capture merchants' growth opportunities in meeting users' daily needs.

Sales data from this year's 618 shopping festival offers a reference for Double 11. According to StarChart data, comprehensive e-commerce platform sales declined by 6.9% year-on-year, while live streaming e-commerce platform sales increased by 12.1%.

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From 2014 to 2024, Double 11 has shifted from competition to collaboration, with less tension and more harmony.

In addition to interconnectivity, the most notable change for JD.com and Alibaba during this year's Double 11 is their increased focus and resources on supporting merchant development. Competing on low prices to attract users is no longer effective; instead, the priority is re-engaging merchants and providing them with certainty.

JD.com reported that as of the first quarter of this year, the number of third-party merchants on its platform had surpassed one million, with the number of new merchants in the second quarter increasing by more than 40% quarter-on-quarter compared to the first quarter.

JD.com invited quality merchants to represent them, including Da Meng, a new farmer who grows avocados in Menglian, Yunnan, and Lv Zhu, the founder of the Hanfu store Revisit Han Tang in Chengdu. They showcased their journey on JD.com and described the sense of security the platform provided, with a highlight being JD.com's lowest return rate across platforms.

This undoubtedly hits a pain point for live streaming e-commerce merchants.

Participating in Double 11 can be unprofitable, but not participating can affect traffic, which is why merchants complain every year. In fact, merchants face common challenges during Double 11: to obtain sufficient traffic, they must incur higher operating costs to achieve sales growth.

Providing merchants with certainty is also a priority for Taobao and Tmall during this year's Double 11. Official data shows that "since the beginning of this year, the cumulative number of new stores on Taobao has reached six million, the largest number in recent years."

To reassure merchants, it's not just about driving them to compete on prices. Tmall's "Buy Expensive, Get Compensated" policy essentially benefits merchants by avoiding price wars. Rather than emphasizing the lowest price, it encourages merchants to align prices across platforms to ensure price stability during Double 11, focusing instead on optimizing the consumer experience and process.

Double 11 has evolved far beyond mere commodity transactions, becoming a comprehensive competition of content, service, and experience.

Back to Double 11 night in 2014, Jack Ma refrained from commenting on the soaring stock prices and the upcoming transaction figures, expressing only his excitement about Double 11's future. "Because we're all still young, and some things will always surpass our imagination," he said.