Chinese regulators said they would be working this Friday to tackle any abuses by merchants on Singles Day, China’s festival of consumption and the biggest online shopping day worldwide.
Every November 11 — Singles Day is named after the “double elevens” (11-11) celebrating single life — Chinese consumers go online in droves to buy sale-priced merchandise on ecommerce sites such as Alibaba and JD.com. Alibaba’s transactions alone exceeded $14bn last year and are expected to grow this year.
In previous years, merchants have been accused of a number of abuses — most annoying to Chinese online shoppers are “fake discounts”, in which sellers jack up prices in the weeks before Singles Day only to lower them dramatically on the day itself. Sellers say they are under huge pressure from Alibaba to offer discounts, in return for which they are given advantageous placement online.