Artificial Intelligence (AI) is profoundly transforming decision-making and operational efficiency in the e-commerce sector. During the annual 'Singles' Day' festival, also known as 'Double Eleven' and held on November 11, Chinese consumers demonstrated significant purchasing power for smart electronics and home appliances. AI is involved in nearly all aspects of e-commerce in China, which was evident in the massive online sales event that just concluded, according to an article published by the China Daily newspaper. Data from e-commerce giant JD.com shows that sales of consumer electronics, such as smartphones, gaming laptops, and tablets equipped with innovative AI technology, grew by over 100% year-on-year during the shopping festival. Revenue from home appliances and household goods more than doubled compared to the previous year. AI-powered virtual assistants helped over 40,000 merchants with their live-streaming, and the number of inquiries handled by intelligent customer service chatbots exceeded 42 billion, according to JD.com. According to Tmall.com, Alibaba Group's e-commerce platform, 80 brands surpassed 100 million yuan (about $14 million) in sales during the first hour of the event, which began at 8:00 PM on October 20. The transaction volume for more than 30,000 brands doubled year-on-year. AI at Scale Alibaba has accelerated the large-scale implementation of AI on its Taobao and Tmall platforms, integrating advanced language models into the search and recommendation engines of these platforms to attract more consumers and increase sales. Experts pointed out that as the world's largest online shopping event, the 'Double Eleven' promotional gala played a fundamental role in boosting domestic demand and recovering the consumer market, as fostering consumption is a priority to ensure China's economic growth this year. The large-scale adoption of AI on e-commerce platforms will continue to improve the operational efficiency of merchants. It offers buyers personalized recommendations and real-time assistance, and drives product sales, according to specialists. Trends PDD Holdings, an online discount company, is leveraging AI to analyze market trends, as well as consumer needs and preferences, thereby optimizing its sales strategies to improve the shopping experience. Consumers can select products using AI-powered search tools, while this helps merchants reduce costs and improve efficiency in product design, marketing, and customer service, said Hong Yong, an associate researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation. Hong added that the widespread use of AI during this year's Singles' Day not only provided consumers with a smarter and more convenient shopping experience but also generated significant growth opportunities for brands and merchants. In his opinion, the e-commerce sector in China is gradually transitioning to a stage of innovation-driven growth, thanks to the rapid application of AI-based smart recommendations, customer service, and virtual shopping guides. Direct Price Cuts Jason Yu, general manager of CTR Market Research, indicated that e-commerce companies have adopted a more pragmatic and simple promotional method this year, with direct price reductions as the preferred strategy to attract price-sensitive consumers. Yu pointed out that the meteoric rise of instant retail, which combines online shopping with immediate delivery, will become a new battleground for major internet and e-commerce platforms. Retail sales in China, a key indicator of consumer strength, increased by 4.5% year-on-year in the first three quarters of this year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Online sales remained a strong point, with a 9.8% year-on-year increase from January to September. Pan Helin, a member of the Expert Committee on Information and Communication Economy of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, highlighted that to further invigorate the consumer market and boost economic growth, more stimulus policies are needed to increase household incomes, stabilize and expand employment, and promote diverse shopping scenarios and new types of consumption. Mo Daiqing, a senior analyst at the Internet Economy Institute, a national consultancy, noted that Chinese consumers are becoming more rational and careful in assessing their needs. They prefer to acquire high-end products with a good price-to-quality ratio. Online retailers should increase their investment in technological innovation, improve the quality of their products, and optimize supply chain management to attract more young consumers, Mo added.
