Duopoly

6.18 – China’s second “shopping day”

As perhaps many people are already aware, 11.11 (November 11) was launched as a shopping extravaganza by Alibaba’s TMall – initially named “Singles Day” although now it’s become pretty universal. Jing Dong (JD) launched their own special shopping day on June 18 which was their founder’s birthday and over the years it’s become China’s secondContinue reading “6.18 – China’s second “shopping day””

Alibaba’s 11.11 (world’s biggest online shopping festival) – hype or honest opportunity?

Double Eleven (11.11, or 11 Nov), a.k.a. Singles’ Day Festival is a global shopping event initiated by Alibaba and adopted by other e-commerce platforms and retailers. For those who are not familiar with it, Alibaba’s online shopping event on November 11 every year is the biggest in the world. You could say Black Friday is Amazon’s weaker,Continue reading “Alibaba’s 11.11 (world’s biggest online shopping festival) – hype or honest opportunity?”

Opportunities and hurdles in China’s vast e-commerce market

At first sight, the China e-commerce market looks like a marvelous gateway to the land of 1.3 billion consumers. However, there are some key differences between the e-commerce world here and elsewhere. Brands are not in control of their online commerce in China the way they can be elsewhere. There is room in most marketsContinue reading “Opportunities and hurdles in China’s vast e-commerce market”

China’s Advertiser-Unfriendly Digital Media Ecosystem

There is one profound difference between the digital media landscape in China and everywhere else. The two key players who control most desirable digital advertising inventory / publishers in China do not depend on advertising for their revenue.This simple fact makes it easy to understand why, unlike Google, Facebook, Twitter or ad-exchanges elsewhere in theContinue reading “China’s Advertiser-Unfriendly Digital Media Ecosystem”