Shopping spectacular will boost bottom line

An extra-large down coat on display at a showroom of Zhong Ding Tai Feng Trade Co Ltd, a manufacturer and exporter of women's wear, targeting Russian-speaking countries. Provided to China Daily

Rita Hu, who is in charge of marketing at AliExpress, said that apparel and accessories, consumer electronics, as well as sports-related goods, will comprise the majority of products on offer.

"We are hoping to attract consumers from more than 200 countries and regions to shop on AliExpress during the 24-hour sale," she said.

"Russia, Spain, France, the United States, Brazil and Chile are expected to be our main markets."

Launched in 2010, AliExpress joined the Nov 11 shopping frenzy last year and processed more than 6.8 million paid orders.

Russian shoppers spearheaded the sales rush.

To attract even more overseas buyers, the shopping platform has been promoting Sin-gles' Day since mid-October via major social media sites in key international markets.

In Russia, AliExpress has even teamed up with major traditional bricks-and-mortar shops so potential customers can look at products, or even try them on, before ordering online. But then this attention to detail is all part of Alibaba's "going global" strategy.

This has become a priority not just for the Internet juggernaut but most of its e-commerce rivals in China.

Expanding into overseas markets is necessary to maintain strong growth, Lu Zhenwang, an independent analyst with Shanghai Wangqing Consultancy, said.

"Apart from bringing more foreign products to China, selling Chinese products overseas is also critical," he said.

Still, delivery times from domestic factories to individual international customers will need to be streamlined, Lu added.

To speed up the process, Alibaba has joined forces with postal services in foreign markets such as Singapore, the United Kingdom, Spain and Russia. "The majority of cross-border packages can now be delivered between 7 days and 30 days," Hu at AliExpress said.