Alibaba managed to set another Singles’ Day record even as sales growth lagged last year’s, as the nation’s economic slowdown prompted consumers to throttle back, according to Bloomberg. Sales on its e-commerce platform climbed 32 percent to 120.7 billion yuan ($17.8 billion), easily topping last year’s total of 91.2 billion yuan. But that growth pace dwindled from last year’s 60 percent, a function of the scale that Chinese’s biggest shopping day has achieved as well as an economy expanding at its slowest pace in a quarter century.
Dwarfing both America’s Cyber Monday and Black Friday, the 24-hour online promotion is closely watched for clues on the health of the economy and its largest online retailer. Billionaire Jack Ma’s Alibaba pioneered the annual shopping spree in 2009 and has since transformed it into a social phenomenon, replicated by rivals including JD and now involving thousands of marquee labels across the world.
The e-commerce giant turned up the star-wattage for 2016, enlisting actress Scarlett Johansson, sports celebrity David Beckham, basketball legend Kobe Bryant and pop-rock band One Republic to headline a pre-sale gala and drum up international attention. Pop star Katy Perry pulled out at the last minute because of a family emergency. Executives had set the bar high, confidently predicting another record-breaking endeavor even as a weakening yuan curbed enthusiasm for foreign wares.
"The consumption potential of 1.3 billion people in China is being uncovered," Ma said, speaking at a press event. "We can see the huge potential of the Chinese market." Some 14,000 brands are hawking their products. Alibaba is touting a virtual reality service to let Chinese buy from Macy’s in New York and Tokyo’s Otaku Mode. It’s added live-streaming to its sites and even a location-based Pokemon Go-like mobile game to try and drum up interest. “Consumer behavior is changing,“ Alibaba Chief Executive Officer Daniel Zhang said during the gala. “Shopping has become entertainment.“
When the largest amusement park in Germany, Europa-Park, began constructing its new Croatia area, it found inspiration in Rimac hypercars and technology for its new rollercoaster – the Voltron Nevera Powered by Rimac.
Following the end of the public delisting acquisition offer for Telefónica Deutschland, Telefónica holds approximately 96.85% of the shares in its German subsidiary.
Infobip Shift Miami, the American version of the Croatian developer conference, this week brought together a diverse technology-sector audience on the shores of Florida.
