Behind the commercial competition of "Singles Day"--the confrontation between Chinese electric enterprises and traditional retailing

Xinhua Hangzhou, November 18 (reporter Zhang Yi Chao Ting) This year, a day to suck gold tens of billions of Yuan "singles Festival" promotion, the evolution of the line and the line under the thick of a duel. In addition to defensive tricks, more Beijing, Hangzhou and other large department stores in the "Singles Day" launched a large-scale promotion, head-on.

"Focus on the same period of time, consumer demand and purchasing power is relatively fixed, line online retail trade is already" hand-to-hand combat. Said Zhang Tianbing, a partner at Deloitte Consulting.

Even the electric business enterprise disclosed the promotion performance also is emphasizing the contrast. Alibaba Group released data, 11th, the whole day Taobao and cat completed sales reached 19.1 billion yuan, less than half a day to complete the 11 gold week in Shanghai 395 large and medium-sized commercial enterprises more than 5,000 outlets operating income. Data from the Shanghai Business Council show that the operating income is 6.43 billion yuan.

And 19.1 billion yuan is only Alibaba disclosed sales. Also in the Singles festival during the promotion of Suning easy to buy, 3 days close to 3 million orders. In Dangdang, clothing shoes Day Shou more than 20 million yuan, the highest sales of a celebrity biography sold 90,000 books.

In the view of Yang Bin, president of Analysys International Business Solutions Company, "Singles Day" promotion is a landmark event with "epoch-making significance" in the new and old retail confrontation. 2005 Gome in Nanjing launched the "U.S.-Soviet War" to price war against Suning appliances (002024, shares bar), the early publicity campaign also triggered the early morning line of pomp. According to the amount of turnover announced at that time, the total turnover of the two parties was about $100 million.

"Seven years, the same consumer carnival, from offline to online, turnover of nearly 200 times times, which in itself is a new and old retail signs of the era." "Yang Bin said.

However, the extent to which online shopping can replace traditional retail, the industry controversy remains fierce.

In July this year, the State Council on the promotion of information technology to promote the development and practical security of the views put forward the goal is to "Twelve-Five", the net retail sales accounted for more than 9% of the total retail sales of consumer goods. At the end of 2011, the proportion was only about 5% per cent.

Scholar Ma Guangyuan on Weibo publicly questioned: online sales in the home appliance sales accounted for less than 10%, how to talk about the replacement of physical stores?

A relatively consistent view is that the objective basis of the explosive growth of E-commerce in China still exists, and will lead to a further expansion of the online retail share. Uneven geographical development, remote areas and the three or four-line city of trade and logistics layout gap, consumer demand has not been met, this part just need to be able to fill through the net. In the first half of 2011, the growth rate of online shopping in the Midwest was 98%, much higher than in the eastern coastal regions, according to data released earlier by Alibaba Group.

Jack Ma, chairman of Alibaba Group, said the traditional retail industry in the United States, Wal-Mart spent 20 years to make the retail network throughout the United States, but today's China can not wait for 20. E-commerce in the United States is only a supplement, and in China will become the mainstream.

From another perspective, even in the big cities where traditional retailing is developed, online shopping can still rely on Internet promotions and scale effects to mobilize potential demand. Gu Jun, a professor of sociology at Shanghai University, believes that all marketing relies on mobilizing people's mental energy, the larger the scene, the more popular, the more likely to stimulate consumption.

"Online shopping is not only the transfer of the stock under the line, but also the whole consumption of the cake to become larger." "Not only is expanding consumption, promoting economic endogenous growth, the rise of Cufe will also lead to a reshuffle of the traditional commercial retail sector," said Guo, director of the Research center of Bank of China (601988, shares). ”

Some in the industry also believe that the new and old retail business is not a simple confrontation relationship. Suning Easy to buy executive Vice President Li Bin said, Suning easy to buy in the "Singles Day" promotional period, 3 days to complete nearly 3 million orders, line online produced a synergy effect. Online and offline close to 2000 stores for the first time to start the same promotional activities, publicity and efficient and save a large amount of marketing costs, reduce costs.

Some household appliances, home furnishings and clothing brand manufacturers also test the water network pre-sale and customization, through understanding consumer demand, and then arrange production, or will trigger manufacturing changes.

"The impact of E-commerce on traditional retailing will be much, it is too early to conclude." "However, consumption purchasing power is relatively fixed, although online shopping can tap the potential of domestic demand, but the sale of electricity dealers can break the turnover of tens of millions of dollars a day, it is bound to impact on traditional retail," said Liu, a professor at Fudan University's School of Management. ”