Alibaba is planning to bring its Single’s Day shopping event to a global audience for the first time this year, as it continues to try and limit its reliance on China.
During its first official conference for its upcoming Global Shopping Festival, which takes place annually on the November 11, Alibaba said it wanted to expand the broadcast of the event’s Countdown Gala Celebration to a global audience for the first time.
Launched in 2015, the gala offers interactive experiences for the audience and opportunities for brands to engage with potential customers, and has becomes a significant red carpet event attracting numerous A-list celebrities.
Last year around 180,000 brands took part in the gala, which Alibaba now plans to broadcast in China, Southeast Asia, Africa and North America this year.
“The gala is extremely valuable, capable of bringing in conversion and brand impressions that far exceed any period in the campaign,” general manager of Alibaba’s marketing-platform business Liu Bo said.
“All of the energy, attention and emotions of consumers are concentrated within those few hours leading up to midnight.”
Alibaba’s shopping event raked in an enormous $30 billion last year, eclipsing rival western events like the recent Amazon Prime Day, Cyber Monday and Black Friday.
This comes as the Chinese giant seeks to ramp up its international presence to offset the shrinking growth of its domestic market.
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