China kicks off 12.12 shopping festival, the sequel to Singles’ Day

The less-celebrated sibling to Alibaba’s Singles’ Day shopping spree promotes small vendors

Singles' Day isn't the only time of year China's online shoppers indulge in big sales. In addition to 11.11, there's also 12.12, another day ecommerce platforms in China try to attract buyers with discounts.

But the focus of the 12.12 shopping festival, or Double 12, is different. It's meant to support Taobao's smaller vendors, which are usually "sidelined" during the Singles' Day shopping spree partly because they lack the resources for large sales volumes and deep discounts, Alibaba said in 2013. JD.com and Pinduoduo also have their own 12.12 events.

(Abacus is a unit of the South China Morning Post, which is owned by Alibaba.)

But compared to Singles' Day, 12.12 pulls in less revenue and the event draws less attention. While Alibaba boasts about its Singles' Day sales figures every year, which hit a record high of 268.4 billion yuan (US$38.4 billion) this year, the company has never released sales numbers for 12.12.

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