The 12.12 sales event, celebrated on December 12th, is the final double-day sale of the year—but it’s far from insignificant. Falling just before Christmas, this event drives massive consumer interest across Southeast Asia. In Singapore alone, 41% of shoppers plan to participate, with 52% seeking luxury goods.
Lazada also reports that during the 12.12 sale, purchases on the e-commerce platform skyrocket. Across SE Asia, sellers saw a 5x increase in sales compared to regular days. This makes 12.12 day sale a key opportunity for e-commerce businesses to capture last-minute holiday shoppers.
In this blog, we’ll explore how online businesses can leverage the 12.12 sales to their advantage. We’ll also take a look at key trends and leading marketplaces to help e-commerce businesses make informed decisions, implement winning strategies, and drive sales!
12.12 sale 2023: Key Statistics and Trends
At Locad, we analyzed data from 12.12 sales 2023 to understand better what makes this shopping day so impactful. It was much more than just offering discounts – there are key factors driving consumer behavior and purchasing decisions.
By using this information, businesses can make smarter decisions, plan more effectively, and optimize their strategies.
1. Majority of orders placed between 12 AM to 1 AM
Locad found that the highest volume of orders, 28.97%, came in between 12 AM and 1 AM when the 12.12 sales officially kicked off. This shows that consumers are eager to secure the best deals when the sale starts. Businesses need to prepare for a strong start and ensure their systems can handle the initial rush.
2. Most expensive items sold during the 12.12 sale 2023
- Sleep essentials
- Home and kitchen appliances/electronics
- Beauty and haircare products
These categories reflect a blend of self-care and functional needs, giving businesses a clear direction for product promotions.
3. 12.12 vs. other double-day sales in 2023
12.12 sale accounted for a substantial percentage of sales across leading marketplaces in Southeast Asia. In 2023, 12.12 saw a 130% increase in sales compared to 6.6. This spike was also evident during 11.11 (76.9%) and 9.9 (45.5%).
4. Orders placed during the 12.12 sale 2023 outperformed sales in the first half of 2024
When we compare the sales generated during 12.12 to the total sales in the first half of 2024 in Singapore, the importance of 12.12 becomes clear:
5. Same-Day Delivery is a Priority
Fast shipping was a major factor, with 62.4% of orders opting for same-day delivery. This shows the importance of offering speedy fulfillment to meet customer expectations during high-stakes shopping events.
30% of Singapore’s consumers prioritize fast delivery when shopping online.
Is your business prepared to meet this demand?
During last year’s 12.12, 99% of orders were fulfilled on the same day with Locad. Let us help you deliver faster, so you can keep customers satisfied.
Leading marketplaces during 12.12 sales
The e-commerce market in Southeast Asia is expected to grow to US $211 billion by 2025. Major sales and shopping events have a key role to play in this growth. The competition among platforms during 12.12 is fierce, and understanding which marketplaces perform best during this event is essential. Here’s a breakdown of the top players in Southeast Asia:
- Shopee
The Shopee Birthday Sale which also occurs on 12.12 drives massive traffic with exclusive deals and promotions. Businesses can benefit from Shopee’s high visibility and strong marketing campaigns that draw millions of consumers. During the 12.12 sale in 2023, Locad found that Shopee was the top marketplace where >55% of the orders were placed.
- Lazada
Lazada remains a dominant player, offering a wide range of products from electronics to fashion. With its strong promotional efforts, Lazada ensures high consumer engagement. During last year’s 12.12, 38% of the orders fulfilled by Locad came from Lazada.
- Zalora
Zalora, a leader in fashion and lifestyle e-commerce offers deep discounts during 12.12. Today it has become a go-to platform for fashion-focused consumers and is essential for beauty brands.
- TikTok Shop
TikTok Shop leverages the power of social commerce, combining entertainment with shopping. 24% of shoppers across Singapore plan to use TikTok shop for their holiday purchases. Its interactive features, like live shopping events, make it the perfect platform for businesses targeting younger audiences. Locad found that Tiktok shop was the third most sought after platform among consumers.
Shopee attracts 343 million monthly visits, while Lazada garners about 128 million.
Locad seamlessly integrates with marketplaces like Shopee, Lazada, Amazon, and Tiktok shop to help you sell where your customers buy!
Top Products Sold during 12.12 sale
The 12.12 sales event brings a boost in demand for a variety of products. According to Locad’s data, these were the top-selling items during last year’s 12.12:
- Beauty Products: Gel Cream Moisturizers were a top choice, showing that skincare products, especially those focusing on hydration, were in high demand.
- Food and Beverage: Milk, Sweeteners, and Canned Goods saw strong sales as consumers stocked up on essential food items for the holiday season.
- Pet Products: Cat and Dog Food were popular purchases, with pet owners preparing to splurge on their pets during the holidays.
- Accessories & Gifts: Bags made it to the top of the list, as many shoppers looked for practical and stylish gift options.
- Electronics: Bluetooth and Wireless Speakers were in high demand, with many consumers buying these as gifts or for personal use.
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Getting Your Online Store Ready for 12.12 Sale 2024: A Step-by-Step Guide
Use accurate demand forecasting and stock up on inventory
Before the 12.12 sale, it’s crucial to understand what products will be in high demand. 12.12 is two weeks away from Christmas, which means many consumers will be looking to buy gifts for their loved ones. It is also a sale that occurs during winter, so demand for winter-friendly products will be on the rise. Demand forecasting is crucial as it can help you optimize inventory and reduce warehousing costs. At the same time, it helps prevent stockouts and increase customer satisfaction. With demand forecasting, you allocate resources better and can invest more in growth opportunities.
To get started, organize all past sales data and analyze it. Keep an eye on current trends and seasonal changes, such as the increasing need for winter apparel or tech gadgets. Place your orders with suppliers well ahead of time to avoid delays, especially with high-demand products.
Accurate demand forecasting can help adjust prices on time and increase profitability.
With Locad, you can accurately forecast demand for 12.12 and pave the way for growth!
Focus on increasing Average Order Value (AOV)
- Upselling and cross-selling – Getting new customers can be quite expensive for a brand. This is where upselling swoops in to save the day and increase customer lifetime value. Upselling and cross-selling can drive revenue by up to 30%. For example, a customer is buying a lamp at $800. During the checkout process, the website presents an option to upgrade to a higher-end model priced at $1,000. Explain the benefits and features of the new model to highlight why they should buy it for just $200 more. Adding a limited-time discount can also incentivize customers to buy the better product.
- Product bundling: Grouping related products together at a discounted price encourages shoppers to buy more while increasing AOV. This strategy also helps clear out inventory faster. Some bundling techniques include buy more, pay less, twin pack strategy, and combining slow-moving items with best sellers.
- Free shipping thresholds: 48% of shoppers in Singapore say that free shipping is a primary motivation when shopping online. When a business offers free shipping, it also encourages customers to make repeated purchases. To take advantage of this, set a minimum purchase threshold for free shipping. For example, offering “Free shipping on orders over $50” can entice shoppers to add more items to their carts. This not only increases the total value of the order but also reduces cart abandonment.
Create a multichannel sales strategy
A successful 12.12 sale in 2024 requires more than just offering discounts on a single platform. Data shows that it takes 6-8 interactions with customers to generate a sale.
To fully capitalize on the event’s potential, it’s crucial to implement a multichannel sales strategy. This ensures that your products reach the widest audience and drive revenue across various platforms. A multichannel strategy also improves the customer experience and conversions. In fact, customers who shop on multiple channels give a 30% higher lifetime ROI.
A key channel to focus on is Shopee, especially since the Shopee Birthday Sale overlaps with the 12.12 sale event. Shopee has a large, active user base across Southeast Asia, making it an essential platform for your multichannel strategy.
Leverage data insights to optimize pricing
The pros and cons of discounting
| Pros | Cons |
Attracts new customers and creates excitement | Too many discounts can diminish the product’s perceived credibility |
Lowers cart abandonment rate | Decreased margins when done ineffectively |
| Makes customers feel rewarded | Customers might end up waiting for a better coupon |
Pricing strategy is a critical factor in the success of your 12.12 sale. With so much competition and a highly motivated customer base, optimizing pricing can help you increase your margins. During the 12.12 event, shoppers are looking for the best deals. So it’s essential to ensure your prices are competitive. Leverage historical sales data to identify trends and determine which products are most likely to sell well. Another way to optimize pricing is by tracking competitor prices in real-time. Using competitive pricing tools, you can monitor how your prices stack up against similar products. This gives you the flexibility to adjust your pricing.
Begin promotions in advance
When you begin promotions early, your brand becomes more visible in a crowded market. It also helps build anticipation among consumers. Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to get the word out. It presents an ROI of $36 for every $1 spent. Start by sending a series of emails that highlight your upcoming 12.12 offers and deals. Use segmentation to personalize the content based on customer preferences.
In addition to email, social media and digital ads are essential for creating buzz. Use platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok to showcase your deals through eye-catching posts. Reviews and user-generated content can also help build trust. 99.75% of online shoppers read reviews, and 91% do so regularly. Positive customer reviews featuring your products play a key role in conversions.
Enhance User experience
- Optimize for mobile commerce – We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again. Optimizing for mobile commerce is absolutely essential. Take a look at the numbers. 85% of consumers in Singapore use their mobiles to shop online. During last year’s 12.12, Singapore witnessed a 163% increase in e-commerce app installs. There was also a 120% rise in user engagement. If you’re looking to optimize for mobiles, now is the time! Platforms like Shopee and Lazada empower merchants by offering in app mobile optimization.
Ensure that your website is mobile-friendly and test for fast load times. It is also essential to incorporate a responsive design that adapts to any screen size. A smooth mobile experience can lead to higher conversion rates and lower bounce rates.
91% of smartphone users have made or plan to make a purchase after seeing a relevant promotion on their mobile device. To effectively market your brand for 12.12, share promotional links optimized for mobile viewing. Product pages can be directly shared on WhatsApp, Instagram, and other mobile-first platforms. Over 50% of ad clicks come from mobiles, making this strategy vital for driving traffic.
- Flexible payment options and easy checkout – 77% of consumers in Singapore will abandon their cart if their preferred payment method is not available. Offering flexible payment methods like buy now pay later (BPNL) can also help increase the AOV by reducing the financial burden. You can consider adding a variety of payment options like credit/debit cards, e-wallets, and BNPL options. An easy, streamlined checkout process minimizes friction and cart abandonment.
Inventory management
Effective inventory management is key to meeting the demand during the 12.12 sale. To avoid stockouts or overstocking, real-time tracking is essential. By monitoring inventory levels continuously, you can keep an accurate count of what’s available. Locad helps you track how quickly inventory is moving, allowing you to identify fast-selling products and adjust stock levels. With Locad, you also get last-mile status visibility, allowing you to easily track the status of each order. This reduces confusion and communication delays.
Automated systems also play a key role by triggering restocking when inventory dips below a set threshold. This automation ensures that your stock levels are constantly aligned with demand. Locad notifies you when a product is about to go out of stock through our logistics engine. This allows you to act quickly and prevent lost sales during this critical sales period.
Warehousing and storage can account for a high amount of business costs.
Locad offers you differentiated storage billing, to help you save costs while accommodating multiple storage types!
Set up an efficient order management system
An efficient order management system (OMS) is crucial to handle the surge in orders during the 12.12 sales. It ensures that orders are processed quickly and delays are reduced.
One of the standout features of Locad’s OMS is same-day pick and pack, which ensures that your orders are processed as quickly as possible. This is especially important during peak sales events like 12.12. In addition, Locad allows for manual order uploads from offline sources. Whether you receive orders via phone, email, or other non-digital channels, you can easily upload them into the system.
A crucial aspect of order management is expiry management. Locad’s expiry management feature helps with better tracking of products and expiry dates. This ensures that expired items are never shipped to customers. With expiry management, sellers can prioritize stocks and prepare their 12.12 sale strategy by bundling or reducing the markup price on the older stock to avoid high holding costs.
Maintain product quality and customer satisfaction during peak sales.
With Locad’s First-In-First-Out system, you ensure the newest products always reach your customers.
Understand how shipping plays a crucial role in sales
Fast, reliable delivery can make or break a customer’s shopping experience. The faster you fulfill orders, the better your chances of gaining customer loyalty. In fact, 70% of people say free shipping is the reason why they shop online. 62% of them say it’s so important to them that they won’t make a purchase without it.
Locad helps e-commerce businesses meet these expectations by partnering with 20+ shipping partners, both national and international. These partners are assigned on the basis of geographical location and package size. This approach keeps shipping costs lower and reduces partner rejections. We also give brands the option to pick between standard and express shipping when they sell on marketplaces like Shopify. This gives end customers control over delivery time and enhances the overall shopping experience.
48% of consumers will abandon their cart due to extra shipping costs.
Locad offers preferential shipping rates by partnering with 20+ last-mile carriers. Sign up today to reduce delivery delays while minimizing shipping costs!
Manage Returns Without Losing Money
Returns are inevitable during large sales events like 12.12 sale, but managing them efficiently can prevent losses. One effective way to manage returns without losing money is by offering gift cards or store credits instead of refunds. This helps retain revenue within the business and reduces logistical challenges. This approach is increasingly important as returns account for over 10% of retail sales.
Pro tip: Gift cards also often lead to higher spending than their face value! Hence, customers could end up spending more when they return items.
How can Locad help you make the most of this year’s 12.12 sale?
- Timely reminders about blackout days: Locad helps you stay on track by sending email reminders about days when warehouse operations are paused. This ensures you’re prepared in advance, avoiding disruptions during peak periods.
- Same-day pick-and-pack: Locad helps make pick-and-pack a hassle-free experience for e-commerce businesses. Our services empower you to distribute your inventory and store closest to your customers, ensuring that >90% of orders are shipped on the same day.
- Smart inventory lock: With Locad’s smart inventory lock feature, you can set aside and secure inventory specifically for 12.12. This ensures that your best-selling products won’t run out of stock during the sale. You can utilize this feature on specific marketplaces like Shopee, which may tend to attract a larger footfall and orders than other sales channels.
- Differentiated storage billing to help reduce costs: By billing at the inventory SKU level, we ensure each product is charged appropriately based on its specific storage needs. This flexibility is especially beneficial for brands that manage various products with different storage requirements. Charges are also adjusted based on storage type – ambient, temperature-controlled, or high-value.
- Value-added services: Locad offers a range of value-added services to enhance your 12.12 sale. We provide bundling and kitting to create product packages, making it easier for customers to buy multiple items. Custom packaging and gift-wrapping options help make your products stand out, especially for gift buyers. You can also personalize labels with custom text, adding a special touch to your brand.
- Cross-border shipping: We offer Importer of Record (IOR), Seller of Record (SOR), and freight forwarding services to help you grow your business on a global scale. With Locad, you can navigate complex local regulations, ensuring smooth customs clearance and compliance.
Conclusion
To wrap up, the 12.12 sales event is a prime opportunity for online businesses to boost their revenue. With the holiday season in full swing, this is the perfect time to engage with eager shoppers. But it requires careful planning and execution. Success during this peak season comes down to understanding customer behavior and intent. With the right strategies, businesses can close the year on a high note, setting themselves up for continued success.
