SINGAPORE: Online shopping platforms in Singapore have reported a windfall during this year’s popular 11.11 shopping extravaganza – the year’s biggest online retail event.
Within just half an hour of the campaign kicking off on Tuesday (Nov 11), bargain hunters snapped up deals amounting to more than S$11 million (US$8.5 million) on Shopee.
The e-commerce giant said shoppers also spent more per order this year compared to last year.
“We saw many consumers make larger, more considered purchases. As a result, we saw larger basket sizes this 11.11,” said Shopee’s Singapore head of marketing Geraldine Ho.
She added that there was strong growth across the electronics, household appliances and beauty categories, along with rising interest in content-led shopping formats such as live streams and short videos.
One of Shopee’s live events chalked up over S$700,000 in sales, making it the platform’s top livestream in Singapore to date.
“Product demonstration definitely helps consumers make more confident purchase decisions … enabling them to buy more,” said Ms Ho.
Rival platform Lazada also reported higher consumer spending, with the average order amount rising more than fourfold. Sales surged by up to 24 times in the first four hours of the 11.11 event.
Across Southeast Asia, electronics, fashion and beauty were its top-performing categories, with total sales growing by over 40 per cent compared to a similar campaign in September, the e-commerce firm said.
The buying frenzy has led to a surge in parcel volumes across warehouses, with logistics players ramping up manpower to cope with demand.
Ninja Van said package volumes had doubled compared to off-peak periods. Its cold chain services – the delivery of perishable goods that require refrigeration – recorded more than triple the usual volume.
"Higher volumes also means denser routes for our drivers. This means instead of one parcel to one address, it could be two to three parcels per address,” said the company's Singapore lead Justina Sim.
Over at FedEx, the firm said it typically sees an increase of about 20 per cent in volume during the year-end festive season.
The period between October and January often sees a spike in buying, gift-giving and shipping activities, driven by major holidays and events including Deepavali, Black Friday and Christmas.
“During this time of the year, it can get pretty busy for us, so we leverage in terms of temporary manpower (as well as) artificial intelligence-enabled tools,” said FedEx Singapore’s managing director Eric Tan.
A FedEx plane carrying goods from Chinese e-commerce hub Guangzhou arrives in Singapore early morning on Nov 12, a day after the 11.11 shopping bonanza. Staff worked to unpack, sort and load packages into delivery vans within two hours to prevent a bottleneck.
FedEx said it employs a range of technologies – including robotic arms that can sort up to 1,000 packages per hour, as well as route optimisers and stop sequencing tools that can help couriers plan and execute last-mile deliveries efficiently.
The company is also exploring automation for loading and unloading processes, reducing reliance on manual labour and allowing workers to focus on higher-value tasks such as planning.
Mr Tan noted that the logistics sector continues to grapple with an ongoing labour shortage.
“There's … a finite number of manpower willing to perform frontline (delivery) work. In fact, the pool is shrinking due to new generations being more educated … with more career options,” he said.
“In view of that, we’re definitely adopting the usage of technology, innovation and robotics. Along with (tech) solutions, we also hope to make the logistics sector more attractive for the new generation.”
While the 11.11 mega sale may be over, the festive shopping season is only just beginning.
Online retail platforms and logistic partners say they are already gearing up for their next big campaign in December, just in time for Christmas.
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Within just half an hour of the campaign kicking off on Tuesday (Nov 11), bargain hunters snapped up deals amounting to more than S$11 million (US$8.5 million) on Shopee.
The e-commerce giant said shoppers also spent more per order this year compared to last year.
“We saw many consumers make larger, more considered purchases. As a result, we saw larger basket sizes this 11.11,” said Shopee’s Singapore head of marketing Geraldine Ho.
She added that there was strong growth across the electronics, household appliances and beauty categories, along with rising interest in content-led shopping formats such as live streams and short videos.
One of Shopee’s live events chalked up over S$700,000 in sales, making it the platform’s top livestream in Singapore to date.
“Product demonstration definitely helps consumers make more confident purchase decisions … enabling them to buy more,” said Ms Ho.
Rival platform Lazada also reported higher consumer spending, with the average order amount rising more than fourfold. Sales surged by up to 24 times in the first four hours of the 11.11 event.
Across Southeast Asia, electronics, fashion and beauty were its top-performing categories, with total sales growing by over 40 per cent compared to a similar campaign in September, the e-commerce firm said.
LOGISTICS UNDER PRESSURE AS ORDERS PILE UP
The buying frenzy has led to a surge in parcel volumes across warehouses, with logistics players ramping up manpower to cope with demand.
Ninja Van said package volumes had doubled compared to off-peak periods. Its cold chain services – the delivery of perishable goods that require refrigeration – recorded more than triple the usual volume.
"Higher volumes also means denser routes for our drivers. This means instead of one parcel to one address, it could be two to three parcels per address,” said the company's Singapore lead Justina Sim.
Over at FedEx, the firm said it typically sees an increase of about 20 per cent in volume during the year-end festive season.
The period between October and January often sees a spike in buying, gift-giving and shipping activities, driven by major holidays and events including Deepavali, Black Friday and Christmas.
“During this time of the year, it can get pretty busy for us, so we leverage in terms of temporary manpower (as well as) artificial intelligence-enabled tools,” said FedEx Singapore’s managing director Eric Tan.
A FedEx plane carrying goods from Chinese e-commerce hub Guangzhou arrives in Singapore early morning on Nov 12, a day after the 11.11 shopping bonanza. Staff worked to unpack, sort and load packages into delivery vans within two hours to prevent a bottleneck.
TECHNOLOGY & AUTOMATION TO THE RESCUE
FedEx said it employs a range of technologies – including robotic arms that can sort up to 1,000 packages per hour, as well as route optimisers and stop sequencing tools that can help couriers plan and execute last-mile deliveries efficiently.
The company is also exploring automation for loading and unloading processes, reducing reliance on manual labour and allowing workers to focus on higher-value tasks such as planning.
Mr Tan noted that the logistics sector continues to grapple with an ongoing labour shortage.
“There's … a finite number of manpower willing to perform frontline (delivery) work. In fact, the pool is shrinking due to new generations being more educated … with more career options,” he said.
“In view of that, we’re definitely adopting the usage of technology, innovation and robotics. Along with (tech) solutions, we also hope to make the logistics sector more attractive for the new generation.”
While the 11.11 mega sale may be over, the festive shopping season is only just beginning.
Online retail platforms and logistic partners say they are already gearing up for their next big campaign in December, just in time for Christmas.
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