Alibaba built the world's biggest sale. Then it stopped saying what it sold.
Alibaba's last published Singles' Day total was RMB 540.3 billion for 2021. Since then: 'in line with 2021' and no figure. Pinduoduo rose to 19% of China e-commerce by mid-2023.
Transcript
For the 2021 Singles' Day, Alibaba published a total: RMB 540.3 billion. It was the last total Alibaba published.
The next year, Alibaba had a choice. Keep announcing the number, as it always had. Or stop. The number had stopped climbing, and announcing it would confirm the slowdown. Would you have kept publishing?
Alibaba went quiet. For 2022, it said only that performance was in line with 2021. It has not published an exact total since.
The filings tell part of the story. In the quarter covering the 2023 Singles' Day, Alibaba's Taobao and Tmall Group revenue grew just 2%.
By mid-2023, Alibaba's Taobao and Tmall held 44% of China e-commerce, JD.com held 24%, and Pinduoduo held 19%, up from 7.2% in 2019.
Going quiet did not hide the slowdown. It handed the story to whoever was still counting. On the 2024 Singles' Day, livestream platforms grew 19%, while traditional e-commerce fell 1%. If you stop reporting a figure, expect people to read the silence.
The records behind this video
Every figure in the video comes from this Decision Record, each with its sources.
Run this decision
The Market Entry Strategy Pack. “How fast can this actually be done?” The framework, a model, a deck and the sourced cases, for running the same call on your own business. See the pack, $499 → Or start with the free guide to this decision →
