Today is Singles Day: updates at Alibaba’s @Alizila Twitter account
As Alibaba sells $2B in the first hour of Singles’ Day, 4 questions analysts are asking: (1) Can Alibaba break US$9 billion in GMV? Last year, Singles Day spenders spent nearly US$6 billion across Alibaba’s marketplaces, Taobao and Tmall. That was nearly double what the sale took in the previous year, and this year Alibaba will be looking for similarly massive growth. (2) Can mobile sales break 50%? Mobile sales accounted for about 36 percent of Alibaba’s overall sales in Q2 of this year, so breaking 50 percent this Singles Day could be a stretch. (3) Will this year’s Singles Day go international? Through programs like Tmall Global, the company has increased the number and profile of international brand names on its ecommerce platforms, and today’s results should reflect how well that’s panned out. For example, Tesla automobiles go on sale on Tmall for the first time today. (4) Will delivery get better and faster? Alibaba has put a great deal of effort into improving the logistical side of its business through projects like its new Cainiao subsidiary and its new partnership with Gooday distribution.
The multi-app strategy is paying off and spreading: canonical example Facebook Messenger has 500M users; : Sometimes offering one mobile app just isn’t enough. The thinking goes as such: As companies add features to their main mobile apps, the design and experience can become increasingly cluttered and difficult to navigate. If these companies offer a separate, dedicated app for each feature, perhaps more users will adopt their services. The multi-app strategy is hardly new. Groupon follows in the footsteps of companies like Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and LinkedIn, among many others. All of these companies have taken sections from their main mobile app offerings and created stand-alone apps for users to download.
An app to measure kids shoe size is a hit with moms: Stride Rite today is launching an iPad app to grab a chunk of that business, and it lets parents measure their children's feet size so they can then order shoes from the company. It is designed to alleviate a pain point for moms and dads who would rather not head to a store every few months to measure the shoe sizes for kids with constantly growing feet. Kristin Smith, director of e-commerce for the Boston-based retailer, said her brand has seen a 129 percent uptick in mobile traffic and a 200 percent jump in sales during the last 18 months. The app, called Rite Feet and developed by MJD Interactive, will be pushed with digital and social ads, as well as placements via Stride Ride's email list and 300 store locations. "We've seen a shift among millennial moms to mobile," Smith explained. "So we are building comprehesive strategy, beginning with the apps. And we are starting to look at iBeacons, though when it comes to mobile payments—we're not quite there yet."
