Alibaba plays up social responsibility ahead of Singles’ Day amid Beijing’s ‘common prosperity’ push
- The e-commerce giant is promoting a series of initiatives in line with Beijing’s heightened emphasis on environmental sustainability and social equality
- It marks a change for the company, which used to highlight its sales prowess during its annual shopping festival in November
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding kicked off the promotion for its annual Singles’ Day shopping festival on Wednesday, focusing on sustainability and inclusiveness amid Beijing’s call for the country’s Big Tech companies to boost social responsibility and pursue “common prosperity”.
The company said its Tmall marketplace is issuing 100 million yuan (US$15.6 million) worth of “green vouchers” to encourage purchasing decisions that “contribute to an environmentally friendly lifestyle”, while its logistics arm Cainiao Network will introduce recycling of packaging materials across 10,000 distribution stations in 20 cities beginning on November 1.
Meanwhile, Alibaba’s Taobao shopping platform has introduced a “senior mode” designed to make its app more accessible to elderly users.
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Amid pandemic, Chinese consumers spend US$74.1 billion during Singles’ Day online sales festival
Alibaba, owner of the South China Morning Post, has long used Singles’ Day to showcase its sales and marketing prowess. For years, the company organised elaborate countdown galas in the hours leading up to the start of its shopping extravaganza, and broadcast its eye-popping sales figures on a giant screen at the end of the marathon event.
This year, in contrast, the Hangzhou-based tech conglomerate has highlighted a slew of initiatives that are in line with Beijing’s increasing focus on environmental sustainability and social equality.