Photo: Kolitha de Silva
China’s Alibaba has high hopes for increasing its slice of the online retail pie in Europe and has plans to use a Chinese online shopping holiday to do just that, challenging Amazon and other e-commerce businesses for market share.
According to Euromonitor International, within Eastern Europe Alibaba is among the top three online sellers, holding the top spot in 2019. Poland’s Alegro shopping website overtook it in 2020 during the pandemic, while Russia’s Wildberries took second place last year. Within a region that includes Czechia and Poland, Amazon’s share is only just over 20%. In fact, the US commerce behemoth isn’t even in the top 10 online retailers in the east of the continent, despite being the top seller in western Europe.
Alibaba’s plans for increasing its share of Europe’s burgeoning e-commerce business include a Chinese online shopping day that is similar to the American “black Friday” promotion that has spread to other geographies. Alibaba’s “Singles Day” is purportedly for those who don’t have a partner, but allows foreign individuals and businesses to buy directly from manufacturers in China. Held on 11 November, it’s also known as “Double 11,” because it happens on the 11th day of the 11th month.
Source: CNBC
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