E-commerce shopping festivals fill the calendar

The 618 e-commerce shopping festival has just ended, but the next shopping festival is gradually brewing. Since when, shopping festivals of all sizes have flooded the e-commerce platforms, and it is not a problem to fill the calendar with shopping festivals. This article summarizes the types of e-commerce shopping festivals, hoping to be helpful to you.

The e-commerce mid-year 618 shopping festival has just ended, but consumers who were either partying or watching are not disappointed, because e-commerce has no shortage of shopping festivals, and the next one is already on the way.

I don’t know when it started, but shopping festivals of all sizes have begun to flood e-commerce platforms and the live broadcast rooms of major anchors. In addition to the two super-large e-commerce shopping festivals of 618 and Double 11, there are also Double 12, New Year’s Goods Festival, 38 Goddess Festival, 51 Big Promotion, Mother and Baby Festival, Food Street, Beauty Week, Domestic Products Week, Brand Day, Fan Day... There are 365 days in a year, and it is not a problem to fill the calendar with shopping festivals.

1. Why do e-commerce companies love shopping festivals?

E-commerce needs promotion, and promotion is inseparable from shopping festivals. At a specific time point, packaging promotional themes, designing subsidy and preferential strategies, and completing product selection and grouping, an e-commerce shopping festival is formed.
From platform carnivals to brand events, anchors are all doing shopping festivals amid the live broadcast craze. Shopping festivals can be said to be commonplace, but they are still useful.

Platforms need shopping festivals to increase the number of users and transaction volume; merchants need shopping festivals to expose their brands in large quantities and complete centralized sales; users need shopping festivals to enjoy the national carnival and pick up some discounted items.

Shopping festivals give platforms and merchants a legitimate reason to promote the idea that “I’m having an event, with good quality products at low prices and discounts, and special prices for a limited time and in limited quantities”, creating an atmosphere and sense of ritual for promotional offers, thereby influencing the decisions and mindsets of consumer users. “It must be cheap to have an event” and “It must be right if everyone is buying it”... As long as platforms/merchants and consumers are willing, shopping festivals will surely flourish.

2. Six major types of shopping festivals

Dazzling shopping festivals (generally referring to shopping promotions with clear themes) have their own value and rules. They can be divided into six categories according to their characteristics. Whether for brand merchants or e-commerce operations, understanding the types and rules of shopping festivals and actively participating in and planning shopping festivals are essential weapons to help sales.

1. E-commerce industry

E-commerce industry shopping festivals come from the relatively fixed promotional rhythm formed in the long-term development of e-commerce, such as the mid-year 618 promotion, Double 11 promotion, and Double 12 promotion.

We also have to thank Taobao and JD.com, two e-commerce giants, for creating the largest shopping festival in the e-commerce industry, with nationwide carnival and participation from all platforms. Although Suning.com and Douyin Kuaishou have also tried hard to create platform-exclusive shopping festivals, their popularity and promotional effects are far inferior to those of 618 and Double 11.

For shopping festivals in the e-commerce industry, the dates are stable and the scale is huge. Merchant brands tend to follow the rhythm of the platform, actively participate in shopping festivals, and select and group products and design discount strategies.

2. Holiday date category

Holiday shopping festivals combine domestic and international festivals and traditional solar terms to package shopping promotions, such as the New Year’s Goods Festival, 38 Goddess Festival, Christmas Sale, and Summer Cooling Season.

In the atmosphere of important national dates such as festivals, consumers who have "free time and money" have a higher willingness to consume and can stimulate specific consumption needs, such as preparing New Year's goods before the Spring Festival and giving gifts on the Chinese Valentine's Day.

Platforms and merchants do not actively promote sales on every holiday. By finding holiday dates that suit the platform's tone and category brand characteristics and investing in them, they can also achieve good sales results.

3. Hot current affairs

Hot current affairs shopping festivals are packaged and promoted in conjunction with important social events. It is necessary to maintain industry sensitivity and pay attention to the implementation of promotional activities related to hot events, such as the Olympic Carnival, the World Cup promotion, and the back-to-school season.

In the hot events that everyone pays attention to, it can amplify the communication effect and preferential perception of consumers on the activities. Event marketing with a certain degree of randomness and timeliness is also prone to hot products, and this kind of shopping promotion is more challenging for the operator.

4. Category and brand

Brand industry shopping festivals are planned based on product categories or brands, and are targeted at targeted audiences for conversion, such as Mother and Baby Festival, Snack Stocking Festival, Clothing New Release Week, Fashion Festival, and Big Brand Day.

Promotional shopping festivals for specific categories are easier to select products and group goods, and the user groups are also accurate and easy to screen. They are also a type of promotional activities often carried out by e-commerce platforms. Single-brand shopping festivals (such as Brand Day/Member Day) require the brand to have a high degree of popularity and a large consumer group. Otherwise, the effect of independently planned shopping festival activities is often not ideal.

5. Self-created exclusive category

Self-created exclusive shopping festivals are shopping activities planned by platforms/brand merchants/top anchors to create exclusive IP shopping festivals, such as Suning 818, Ele.me 517, Simba’s birthday party, and anniversary celebration.

This type of shopping festival is based on the influence of platforms/brand merchants/top anchors on the audience. It has not yet formed a large-scale influence, but it is of great help in converting sales to targeted audiences.

Suning.com once vigorously created the 818 Shopping Festival, trying to form another e-commerce national consumption festival between JD.com's 618 and Taobao's Double 11, but with little success. Now Douyin has also set its sights on 818 for shopping festival promotions, but it has not yet formed enough influence to influence and guide the e-commerce industry.

6. Specific subject categories

In addition to the above five types of promotional shopping festivals, there are also some promotional shopping activities that are packaged and planned in combination with specific themes. They are also common types of e-commerce shopping festivals, such as Agricultural Assistance and Poverty Alleviation Day, Regional Specialty Festival, Counter-season Promotion Week, and Overseas Shopping Traceability Season.

This type of promotion is more challenging in terms of event planning and merchandise operation capabilities. It is also more flexible and personalized, not restricted to common shopping festival themes, and is conducive to platforms/brands creating personalized promotions.

The six major types of shopping promotions have their own characteristics and rules, which also reflect the operational goals and strategic focus of e-commerce. If we look at and understand shopping festivals from the perspective of activities, products, and users, and actively plan and participate in shopping activities, GMV will be just around the corner.

Author: Wu Yijiu, WeChat public account: Growth Pirate Ship