Recently, Alimama’s Dharma Disk released the “Alimama’s 2024 Double Eleven Consumer Group White Paper.”

The white paper aims to analyze the Double Eleven consumer group through insights, uncovering new groups and trends with growth potential on Taobao, thus helping brands find new opportunities to acquire customers and break market boundaries in the 2024 Double Eleven event.

*The following is the original report text, organized by CBME Insights:

01. Consumer Trend Insight of Double Eleven

Increased Consumer Engagement

The white paper shows significant increases in core indicators such as the size of active consumers on Taobao Tmall, the average number of days of purchase per person, average order value, average number of orders per person, and average number of leaf categories purchased per person in 2024.

In particular, the average number of days of purchase per person increased by 6%, the average order value by 12%, the average number of orders per person by 18%, and the average number of leaf categories purchased per person by 13%.

(PS: A “leaf category” refers to the most specific category in the e-commerce platform’s category system that is no longer further subdivided. In Taobao’s category system, the leaf category is the end of the category tree, akin to the leaves on the branches.)

Advanced Consumers Buy More and Pricier

Advanced consumers are those whose transactions and click behaviors (such as transaction price, total transaction volume, click price, etc.) are at a higher level, representing Taobao’s core consumer group.

The white paper indicates that advanced consumers continue to grow on Taobao, with increases across the board in metrics such as average spending amount, purchase frequency, and breadth of categories. The order value for advanced consumers increased by 15%, the average number of days per person by 7%, the average number of orders per person by 15%, and the average breadth of leaf categories per person by 11%.

Lapsed Consumers Returning More Quickly

The white paper demonstrates that the efficiency of reclaiming consumers who had not purchased within 365 days improved by 15% during the big promotion periods. The primary categories of purchases from returning consumers were household cleaning supplies, women’s apparel, food, and daily essentials. Major promotional events play a key role in re-engaging lapsed users.

Rising Consumer Groups

The white paper identifies burgeoning consumer groups linked to changes in the socio-economic structure, including core family decision-makers, silver-haired demand groups, the “him” economy, staunch domestic goods supporters, emotional consumers, and quality seekers, who have become influential market forces.

(Footnote: The TGI index is used to gauge the intensity of the target audience’s preferences for specific characteristics.)

Rising Consumer Groups

• Core Family Decision-Makers
  Average order value +2%, purchase frequency +11%,
  assortment breadth +6%

Core family decision-makers, responsible for the majority of daily purchases and expenses for the family, take into account not only their own needs but also those of their entire families, dealing with a variety of essential categories: including food, daily goods, and mother & baby products. They play a crucial role in their families’ consumer behavior.

This group represents a core demographic within the Taobao ecosystem, with significantly higher ARPU (average revenue per user), purchase frequency, and category breadth compared to the general populace and continues to show rapid growth within Taobao, making them a valuable user base for merchants to vie for.

The white paper reveals that core decision-makers in families are predominantly female, between the ages of 25-39, with higher levels of spending power and from households with children.

• Silver-Haired Demand Group
  Average order value +1%, purchase frequency +3%,
  assortment breadth +2%

In recent years, the silver-haired group has shown robust consumption potential in the e-commerce field, becoming one of the trend-setting demographics for new growth on e-commerce platforms. Their consumption habits and needs are becoming increasingly diverse, stretching beyond traditional living essentials to cover health care, travel and holiday, and leisure entertainment.

Therefore, catering to the needs of the silver-haired user group and unearthing high-value users within this segment is crucial.

• “Him” Economy
  Average order value +20%, purchase frequency +16%,
  assortment breadth +5%

As the awareness of male consumers rises, they start to pay more attention to their quality of life and personal expression. From fashion trends to tech products, fitness to travel experiences, the rise of the “him” economy brings new opportunities and challenges to the e-commerce market, driving diversified market development.

• Staunch Domestic Goods Supporters
  Average order value +7%, purchase frequency +16%,
  assortment breadth +11%

With increased recognition of domestic brands among consumers, more and more people are beginning to focus on and purchase domestic products characterized by high quality and unique designs. From household appliances and apparel to food, domestic goods are gaining favor with consumers due to their outstanding value for money and innovative market positioning.

• Emotional Consumer Group
  Average order value +23%, purchase frequency +19%,
  assortment breadth +12%

These consumers are willing to pay for products that offer healing functions and self-pleasuring experiences, such as mystery boxes, squishy toys, and Capybara dolls. They seek not just the products themselves but also the emotional connection that provides joy, relaxation, and companionship. The surprises from a mystery box and the stress-relief tactile sensation of squishy toys are their little remedies.

Such consumer trends reflect people’s higher pursuit of life quality and reveal a closer link between emotion and consumption.

• Quality Seekers
  Average order value +38%, purchase frequency +4%,
  assortment breadth +1%

While consumer needs are changing, there is still a group of users who stick to quality above all else, willing to pay for well-known brands and high-quality products across a variety of categories, including food, apparel, and electronics. They value genuine product guarantees, product reputation, user experience, and after-sales service more. They also tend to favor flagship stores with high-quality and trustworthy brands, ensuring that products provide lasting value and satisfaction.

02．Consumer Characteristic Analysis During Major Sales Events

Brand Choices Become More Diverse, Major Sales Events Stimulate In-Depth Comparison

The white paper indicates that during the major sales events, consumers typically engage with an average of 3.68 brands before making a purchase in the same category, a slight increase (+1%) over daily sales. Interactions with brands in the fast-moving consumer goods and household appliances sectors are particularly lively during major sales events, increasing by more than 10%, possibly related to intense price competition during the events and a rich array of brands causing consumers to make detailed comparisons.

Major Sales Events Encourage Brand Switching, Higher Willingness to Try New Brands

During major sales events, consumers show a greater inclination to break away from habitual brand choices and actively try new brands. Notably, the willingness to try new brands increases significantly in the small home appliance (+12%) and outdoor sports (+7%) categories, which may be related to the emerging lifestyle trends and fast product updates from brands.

Consumer Habits of Multi-Segment and Cross-Category Shopping

Over 60% of consumers choose to make multiple purchases across different sales phases during the promotional periods, capitalizing on deals at each stage. Among them, nearly 90% have engaged in cross-category purchases, with over 60% purchasing across industries and categories.

Moreover, the white paper mentions three types of cross-category behavior: cross-industrial bundling, industry-specific stockpiling, and flexible interest-driven combinations.

Cross-industry bundling is inclined towards purchasing practical daily necessities, with toy enthusiasts, mainly mothers, also buying other baby and toddler products. Industry-specific stockpilers focus on multi-category combinations within the same industry to meet finely-tuned demands. Consumers from industries with a strong interest orientation show high flexibility when shopping across categories.

Major Sales Events Lead to Consumption Upgrading: High-Price, High-Quality Products in High Demand

In some industries, such as fast-moving consumer goods, household appliances, and digital products, an overall trend of consumption upgrading is apparent during major sales events, with consumers preferring high-priced, high-quality items. Taking fast-moving consumer goods as an example, categories like skincare, hair care, and mother & baby have all witnessed consumption upgrading.

The “White Paper” aims to unearth new groups with growth potential on Taobao and deep insights into user movements between different brands and the associated purchasing trends across different categories, particularly how these trends manifest during the different phases and cycles of major sales events. Thus, it seeks to identify and propose strategies for “Brand Undecided Audience Capture,” “Cross-Category Consumer Groups during Major Sales Events,” and “Consumption Upgrade Groups,” helping merchants more accurately target potential consumers, promoting business and marketing efficiency growth during the Double Eleven sales.

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