Click Frenzy and Singles’ Day 2020

With the accelerated growth in the e-commerce industry brought about by COVID-19, this year’s shopping events in the ‘golden quarter’ are set to be the biggest ones yet. Last week, consumers in Asia-Pacific were presented with many enticing online deals as brands across the region participated in two major shopping events, Click Frenzy and Singles’ Day.

Click Frenzy is Australia’s answer to Black Friday where top local and international brands come together to offer discounts and deals to Australian consumers over a 53-hour period. Singles’ Day, the biggest shopping event in the world, also kicked off a few hours later with Katy Perry headlining the countdown gala in Shanghai, China.

Retailers and publishers alike have a huge opportunity to boost performance and make up for lost sales due to COVID-19 during Black Friday and Cyber Weekend. Taking learnings and data from events such as Click Frenzy and Singles’ Day enables retailers and publishers to tweak strategies and campaigns based on consumer behaviour.

As both events took place simultaneously, we look back at our network performance data to see how they panned out.

Click Frenzy

This year, our Australian affiliate network data shows an uplift 63% in sales and an increase of 60% in orders YoY throughout the duration of Click Frenzy. The strong growth can be attributed to the extra 24 hours that was added to the event duration, and also the fact that Aussies are now, more than ever, becoming accustomed to shopping online.

Telecommunication sales soared by 1,461% YoY as Apple launched the new iPhone 12, coupled with consumers continuing to find ways to stay touch with loved ones while international travel remains at a standstill. With Christmas just around the corner, the number of orders in the Jewellery, Greeting Cards and Gifts categories expectedly increased by 500%, 254% and 271% respectively.

Although sale-related search term peaked on the last day of Click Frenzy this year, a majority of purchases were made in the first 24 hours of the sale. The trend is indicative of consumers continuing to research offers and promotions to capitalise on savings, after their initial purchase when the sale commenced.

As the holiday season approaches, it’s important that publishers look at which verticals and products are performing well, both onsite and within the industry. Using this data, publishers can then make decisions about promotional placements and content opportunities based on what consumers are searching for and purchasing.

Singles’ Day

Alibaba announced on Thursday that the 24-hour event had once again broken records, raking in 498.2 billion yuan – or roughly US$75 billion, a 26% increase from 2019. The highly anticipated event is rapidly gaining traction all around the world, and it may come as no surprise that even local brands such as JB Hi-Fi chose to participate in Singles’ Day instead of Click Frenzy this year.

Our global affiliate network data shows that Chinese consumers who made a purchase on Singles’ Day this year predominantly shopped in the Beauty and Luxury categories. On the other hand, a majority of Singaporeans who also participated in the one-day sale event directed their spend towards Apparel & Accessories.

Affiliate publishers also capitalised on this event, with Loyalty and Rewards sites responsible for driving 86% of orders in China. Deals publishers proved the most effective in driving site traffic, followed closely by Sub-networks and Content sites. Similarly, in Singapore, Loyalty and Rewards sites also drove a high number of orders, followed by Coupons and Voucher sites.

Brands can work with Content publishers to drive site traffic ahead of the shopping events and partner with Loyalty and Rewards on the day to engage with consumers at all stages of their shopping journey. Additionally, retailers and publishers should work together to collaborate on promotion opportunities and campaigns to boost performance in a mutually benefiting way.

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