中国的在线零售商拼价格战

One month ago, a discount shopping event by China’s online retailers brought record sales of nearly 19 billion yuan, or over 3 billion US dollars, in just one day. But with price wars being waged almost every month this year, many Chinese online companies are struggling to keep up the fight. And consumers are not happy, either.

Preparing for the battle. A new price war has just erupted among China’s online retailers. For small online business owners like Xiaolu, she has no choice but to join the latest wave of price cuts.

"It’s been no more than a month since the last price war. This year, there has been one price war after another. Without making a profit, it’s difficult to sustain."

But for big online retailers, they still seem fully prepared for battle. Among them, Taobao and Jingdong are some of the most aggressive.

For these online giants, conventional festivals like Christmas and Valentine’s Day are no longer enough to keep up with the demand for discounts. So retailers are beginning to CREATE festivals out of nothing, just to initiate new price wars.

December the 12th, a normal day for us. But leading online retailers name it as "Double Twelves Festival". And they’ve all promised "uNPRecedented benefits" for customers, that go beyond just price cuts.

Jingdong announced that some of its lucky customers will have attractive young women deliver their purchases to their homes.

In this advertisement clip, the company calls them "love angels" and hopes they’ll bring warmth to customers. As price war escalates on line, on the street, orders have increased. But the growth in demand isn’t as obvious as in previous price wars.

Yu Yang, shopper, said,"There have been so many online price wars this year. I’ve already got what I need."

And for those who are still shopping, many have gone back to the conventional ways. As Christmas approaches, discounts in shopping malls are also steep, and probably, more sincere.

"I’ve heard about the double twelves festival of online retailers. But I feel it’s just a way to attract your attention. It’s always very disappointing that after waiting for a long time to find a bargain online, it’s either out of stock or delivered very late."

Han Peng, Beijing, said,"Delayed deliveries, phony price cuts, frustrated consumers, and rising competition from department store Christmas promotions. These are all making this so-called Double Twelves Festival much less attractive. But now the question is: why are the online retailers so determined to continue the price war?"

Su Meng, economist, Guanghua Management School, Peking University, said,"This year, we’ve seen many major retail companies in China starting their online businesses. This inevitably has caused conflicts with the current online shops. But the price wars of such high frequency will hurt the whole industry. It’s not a sustainable way of competition."

It can’t be more true for Xiaolu.

For many smaller businesses, without making a profit, price wars could soon become a battle for survival.