Less than a month to go for the largest e-commerce day in the world, Alibaba’s 11.11 Shopping Festival. The mega sale day consistently beats the sales volume of Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the U.S. as well as all other global sales events. What was earlier a China-only sale, has now turned into an entertainment extravaganza around the world, with the entire Alibaba ecosystem, including Lazada and now all Daraz markets, hosting this mega sale event.
After the acquisition in May 2018, Daraz hosted its first 11.11 (localized version Gyara Gyara) on Nov 11, 2018. The e-commerce platform reported a sales volume increase of over 8x compared to an average day, with a monumental 3 million users on the app on a single day, in Pakistan alone.
It’s not the sale magnitude that really sets this sale apart, it is all the technology it is cushioned with, making it a unique shopping experience. The platform claims that 11.11 is the ‘new age of shopping’ and rightly so. Daraz is leveraging Alibaba technology to enhance services, ranging from e-payment, artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate logistics.
11.11 places major focus on providing entertainment for shoppers in-app; every user leaves the app with something. 2018, saw the first-ever live broadcast show on leading television network featuring A-listers and prizes worth millions from top brands. It was the first of its kind interactive game show, bridging the gap between online and offline. A large offline audience – show viewers watching TV – was engaged and connected to everything that was happening on the app. Using the Daraz app, customers could screen QR codes visible on TV screens to play the same games celebrities were playing with the host. After a successful pilot last year, the 11.11 Countdown Gala is back for its second run, this time in partnership with Jeeto Pakistan. This year, viewers can immerse themselves in a first of its kind experience, by engaging with popular features such as Shake Shake, collectible vouchers and other cashback offers through in-app actions.
“Daraz is more than a shopping platform, it’s a complete lifestyle destination for its users. Shoppers not only get access to a wide assortment in 100+ categories but also entertainment with gaming, rewards and live interactive broadcasts. This 11.11 will be a unique and fun experience – in-app games, shake shake, one rupee deals and so much more; from Nov 1st, everyone will get something from Daraz. Keep coming back – there’s something new every hour,” said Saman Javed, Head of Marketing Communications, Daraz.
Daraz is working relentlessly to further increase product assortment from over 7 million products to over 8 million products in time for 11.11 – no other sale campaign has been able to provide this kind of access to consumers in Pakistan. With the personalization module, users will see what they are most interested in from this expansive assortment. In addition to the Daraz muscle, all brands, sellers and leading payment partners are all excited about the sale and bringing the best they have to the table – together offering over 50 crores worth of discounts across the platform and attracting an unprecedented number of customers.
The 11.11 sale redefined the way Pakistanis shop and the way they interact with online platforms last year, and the change will be even more impactful this year. In a country like Pakistan, with increasing internet penetration and a young, tech-savvy generation, the scope for sales like 11.11 to leave an impact is endless.
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