Xiaomi claims record sales during Singles Day shopping festival in China
Chinese smartphone and consumer electronics company Xiaomi has announced record sales during the Singles Day shopping festival across various online platforms. The company reported selling over 22.4 billion yuan ($3.11 billion) worth of products from October 23 to November 11, 2023, on platforms such as Alibaba’s Tmall and Taobao, JD.com, Pinduoduo, and Douyin.
While Xiaomi celebrated its sales success, Alibaba and JD.com declined for a second-straight year to share total figures for the Singles Day shopping festival, leaving room for speculation and estimation. The firm Syntun and Morningstar senior equity analyst Chelsey Tam reported a 19% increase in gross merchandise value (GMV) from livestreaming during the shopping festival, reflecting the growing trend of using livestreaming and short videos as sales channels in China.
Xiaomi’s newly released Xiaomi 14 smartphone emerged as the top-seller on Alibaba’s Tmall from November 4 to 11, and the brand claimed the first-place spot in various categories of Chinese brands’ smartphone sales across other online shopping platforms. This successful performance led HSBC analysts to revise Xiaomi’s smartphone shipment forecasts by 7% in 2023 and 6% in 2024.
Singles Day has grown from a single-day event into a multi-week shopping festival across various online platforms in China over the past decade. The shopping festival has become a significant promotional period, and more details about Singles Day results and Chinese consumer trends are expected to be disclosed during corporate earnings calls later in the week.
JD.com is expected to report quarterly results on Wednesday evening, while Alibaba is set to release earnings on Thursday evening, both Beijing time. These reports could provide additional insights into the performance of various brands and product categories during the Singles Day shopping festival.