Online shopping set for year-end boom

Online shopping is expected to surge in the remaining months of this year with many e-commerce players launching promotions. During this period the biggest promotion will be Singles’ Day on November 11, which has become popular in Asia and a huge commercial hit. According to Criteo, an advertising platform, November 11 was originally celebrated in Chinese universities and meant for singles. It then spread to other markets like Taiwan, Indonesia, Viet Nam, and Singapore. Silvia Siow, Criteo’s head of account strategy for Southeast Asia, Taiwan and Hong Kong, said: “In recent years the day has become a major opportunity both for shoppers and online retailers. “This is not just a one-day celebration but the clear start of the winter shopping season. “A strong retail sales uplift across various product categories is seen in the weeks following November 11 with the most spectacular sales spike happening in December.” For Vietnamese market, Siow said, the retail sales during November 11 last year increased by 245 per cent compared with the time from 24 to 30 September 2017. She told Viet Nam News that sales would further increase this year. “Online retailers should not stop promotions with a single day and have to continue to capitalise on the momentum created by this big promotion day as bigger consumption will follow in December.” In Viet Nam last year the biggest sales day was December 12 but sales remained high for the next two days, she said. Retailers should benefit from the momentum created by… [Read full story]