What is Mega Sale? Explore its origins from Singles Day and how it has transformed e-commerce. Learn how brands leverage these events to boost sales, attract new customers, and cultivate shopping habits. Discover top strategies for optimizing sales during Mega Sale days.
What is Mega Sale?
Mega Sale is large-scale and extended discount events, often organized by e-commerce platforms, major retailers, or well-known brands. During these days, customers have the opportunity to shop at significantly reduced prices, while brands can quickly boost their sales.
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The Growth of Mega Sale Day
Mega Sale Day originated from the Singles Day event (November 11) in China, when singles shop to treat themselves, compensating for the lack of a partner. Thanks to Alibaba's clever strategy, November 11 has become the largest event on leading e-commerce platforms in China such as Tmall, Taobao, and Alibaba since 2009.
To understand the far-reaching impact of Mega Sale Day, consider that the first 11/11 campaign generated 231.5 billion yuan ($30.8 billion) in online revenue within 24 hours in 2018. In contrast, according to Adobe estimates, Black Friday in 2017 only reached $6.2 billion, and Cyber Monday reached $7.9 billion. Have you noticed the opportunity yet?
Based on these impressive results, Alibaba aimed for December 12 to become an opportunity for those rushing to shop before Christmas or seeking deals before the New Year. Initially, many markets in China viewed December 12 as an opportunity for small and medium-sized enterprises to shine after larger brands dominated November 11. Today, December 12 has attracted participation from many major shopping apps from East to West, such as Lazada, Zalora, and Asos.
Major brands have also joined the Double Sale Day due to its popularity. In 2016, Shopee paved the way for a major annual sales campaign on September 9, covering the entire Asia-Pacific region, including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. This event yielded enormous profits for merchants in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, with over 6 million orders on September 9, 2018—three times the number of orders on a normal day on Shopee. More than 15 million products were sold within 24 hours.
The massive success of September 9, November 11, and December 12 has paved the way for Shopee to expand its Double Sale strategy. Now, each Double Sale Day in the month has become an anticipated event for most online shoppers. This is a great opportunity for brands to connect with their customers and prospects and to develop spending habits through e-commerce.
After two years of the pandemic, Mega Sale Day is no longer just an Asian event. Major Western retailers like Zalora, Amazon, and Sephora are also actively joining the competition against key players in APAC like Shopee, Lazada, Zalora, and Tiki.
The Impact of Mega Sale Day
The success in retail has sparked a movement in other industries. For instance, many companies in the hotel industry, such as Booking.com and Hotels.com, have also run promotional programs like 9% discounts on September 9 or 8% discounts on August 8. Banks, financial institutions, and many e-wallets have also joined these movements by collaborating with e-commerce platforms to serve a passionate spending customer base.
When Alibaba began its first 11/11 campaign in 2009, only 27 brands participated. According to Forbes, this number rose to over 60,000 online stores by 2017. Under the heavy impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, luxury brands also had to join the game to survive. In 2020, about 200 luxury brands held promotional campaigns on November 11, doubling the number from 2019.
This is noteworthy because luxury brands often fear that participating in discount seasons will harm their prestige. However, this year, with overall sales down due to the pandemic and Chinese consumers making up a large proportion of global luxury buyers, luxury brands overcame their concerns.
The impact of Double Sale Day is expected to become even more widespread due to the rapid development of platforms like Shopee, Lazada, and Tokopedia. In the Asia-Pacific region, retail revenue on November 11 in Singapore increased by 477%, and in Malaysia, it was up 132% compared to 2019.
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Benefits of Mega Sale Day for Businesses
Brands Can Attract New Customers
Mega Sale Days are becoming a popular trend with various discount programs, gifts, and more. Thanks to the popularity of e-commerce platforms and the simplicity of shopping and payment processes, Mega Sale Days are opening up opportunities for brands of all sizes to increase revenue. By offering steep discounts, free shipping, or gifts, e-commerce platforms not only boost profits from existing customers but also attract new customers who have never shopped online.
This effect occurs because many people often save products in their carts to check out on Mega Sale Day to enjoy attractive promotional programs. These individuals then create a trend among their friends and family about online shopping, making other customers more easily convinced to try it for the first time.
In fact, about 86% of consumers in Southeast Asia reported shopping online during Mega Sale Days. Among them, 43% said this was their first time purchasing online. This figure is highest in Asia-Pacific countries, led by Thailand and Vietnam with 64% and 53%, respectively.
Many Consumers Choose New Brands
When all brands offer discounts, customers tend to look for the best deals. They are inclined to buy from new brands based on competitive prices, product reviews, or attractive promotions. Therefore, many consumers are shopping from brands and even product categories they have never tried before. This is particularly evident in the men's and women's fashion categories (70% each), household goods, and family food (69%), and toys and children's products (69%), according to research by Facebook.
Brands Can Foster Regular Shopping Habits
Regular promotional programs effectively "train" customers to develop shopping habits by encouraging them to frequently visit online stores—the more time customers spend with you, the more likely they are to become regular customers.
Brands Can Better Track, Analyze, and Predict Customer Behavior
Increased traffic means collecting more critical data about revenue or profits. Based on search queries and other behaviors that can be tracked as customers browse e-commerce pages, brands can truly understand each of their customers, from preferences and concerns while browsing to current trends.
In this way, brands can learn about their customers and quickly identify market trends. Large amounts of data allow them to make data-driven decisions. With the support of customer data management (CDP) systems, they can implement personalized experiences to provide relevant and meaningful service to each customer or organize their fixed inventory plans to better adapt to trends. Marketing campaigns, messages, or ideas should be built based on this information to serve customers in ways they want, with tones they prefer, and in their best interests.
8 Tips to Optimize Sales on Mega Sale Day
Plan Ahead
Prepare months in advance to develop strategies, ensure stock availability, and optimize the website. For example, Amazon thoroughly prepares for Prime Day, helping them achieve a record revenue of $11 billion in 2021. Similarly, Shopee and Lazada plan promotions and collaborations with major brands before major sales days like September 9 and November 11.
Create a Sense of Urgency
Encourage customers to act quickly by using countdown clocks and limited-time offers. Events like Lazada and Shopee's 11/11 often create excitement with early advertising campaigns and promotional announcements.
Optimize the Website and App
Ensure the website and app can handle large traffic volumes by using CDN, compressing images, and deploying caching. Shopify optimized its platform for Black Friday 2020, allowing it to process $2.4 billion in revenue.
Reliable Payment and Logistics Solutions
Invest in payment and logistics systems to avoid issues and ensure timely delivery. Macy's experienced severe payment issues on Black Friday 2017, leading to customer disappointment.
Live Streaming
Use live streaming to generate excitement and connect with customers. For example, Nike hosted the "Nike Air Max Day" event with a live broadcast, attracting millions of views and increasing sales.
Affiliate Marketing
Collaborate with influencers to promote the mega sale event through product reviews and videos. Sephora has used affiliate marketing to create awareness and boost sales during sales events.
Incorporate Double Sale Days in Imagery
Add elements like double dates (9/9, 11/11) to advertising images to grab attention and remind customers of the deals. Simple but striking images help consumers remember and search for products on sale days.
Leverage Social Media
Use short videos and stories on social media to promote products and generate interest. Partner with influencers to create authentic content and connect with customers, helping to increase traffic and sales.
