Australia has been ranked the fourth highest selling country at this year’s Singles Day shopping event run by the Alibaba Group.
Record sales made Australia the fourth highest non-Chinese retailer behind Japan, the US and South Korea and ahead of Germany. By 9 hours, 14 minutes and 28 seconds into the festival, the total gross merchandise volume (GMV) of Australian and New Zealand products had exceeded that of 2015.
In a statement, the Alibaba Group said the increase in Australian sales was down to more Australian businesses participating in Singles Day as well as stand-out performances by several local retailers and brands.
Chemist Warehouse was the star of the show, outstripping its previous performance. The retailer reported RMB 10 million ($1.9 million) of sales in the first 13 minutes—a number it reached in 46 minutes during last year’s festival. The Australian pharmacy chain went on to become the first Tmall Global store to surpass sales of RMB 100 million.
Damien Gance, director of Chemist Warehouse, said the shopping festival is “invaluable” for retailers from both a sales and brand-building perspective. “This year, we were fortunate to be part of Alibaba’s VR [virtual reality] shopping experience which, along with our other marketing and merchandising activities, led to us beating our 2015 records,” he explained.
“Our team is delighted and looking forward to continuing to work with Alibaba to provide new and innovative ways to shop”.
The other top ANZ brands by GMV included Jeanswest, Ugg, Swisse and Blackmores.
Maggie Zhou, Alibaba Group ANZ managing director, said she is thrilled at the success of Australian businesses during this year’s event.
“When we announced the opening of our office in Australia earlier this year, I said that one of our goals was to improve on the country’s outstanding performance in Alibaba’s 2015 11.11 Global Shopping Festival,” she explained.
“I’m thrilled that during this year’s festival we’ve seen significant increases in Australian sales volumes—a result which will have a positive impact on many local businesses.”
Overall, the Alibaba Group reported that the total GMV settled through its payment system Alipay was RMB 120.7 billion, an increase of 32 per cent compared to 2015. Mobile payments were also up nearly 15 per cent from last year.
The CEO of the Alibaba Group, Daniel Zhang, said the 2016 Singles Day was a preview of the future of retail, where entertainment, commerce and interactive engagement intersect seamlessly.
“From the kick-off of warm-up activities to the countdown gala and all the way through the 24-hour global shopping festival itself, we’ve seen unprecedented engagement between consumers and merchants,” he said.
“11.11 showcased how online and offline retail will be reinvented to offer brand new shopping experiences to our hundreds of millions of mobile, digitally savvy active users.”