User:Qian Wang Amy/sandbox 3

In China, November 11 is a big deal for Taobao consumers and sellers attracting a lot of online shoppers. With the increase in technology causing a subsequent increase in online shopping platforms sellers have come up with more innovative ways to keep their customers still interested in their products. Taobao being no exception has now adopted even more marketing strategies to keep its clients and increase their clientele base.

Offers
There is nothing like a good deal to attract consumers into purchasing a product. Some of the common deals offered are coupons, shopping points and 1 billion red envelopes. Customers are also encouraged to engage in group shopping which earns the consumers discounts on desired products. However, before the customer can enjoy the benefits of these deals, the sellers make them work for it by making it difficult for them to get the discount offers easily.

During this festive season, it is common for people to spend more on commodities. Considering this era backed with the fear of missing out, individuals are highly likely to spend on products because they see other people buying. Bandwagon as a persuasion technique is used effectively in this case. Customers are enticed into purchasing products because the products are being used by so many other people as well. This has caused the November 11 sale to become a traditional activity in which many Chinese people want to participate in.

Games are also offered in which customers can earn points. Consumers interested in the product invite their friends to join them in games. This way they get a lot of consumers to use their apps and purchase their products.

Pricing strategies
One common way of attracting customers to purchase products is to reduce the price of the product. Some merchant s offer lower prices for goods if the customer is willing to make an order for the product before the day of the sale. Another trick that merchants use is reducing the price of the product before the day of the sale so that on the day of the sale, the customer feels like they are getting a good deal which is not really the case.

Price discrimination is another selling strategy often applied by sellers. In this case, the prices of the products are set to fit the pocket of the consumer. Higher prices for the upper class consumers while lower prices for the lower class consumers. The merchants are also able to maximize on sales without having to improve the quality of the product by pricing based on the affluence of the region. Customers residing in regions that are considered as upper class paying higher prices for the same commodity as customers residing in regions that are considered lower class areas.

Branding
During the Nov 11 sale, the merchants hire brand ambassador s to endorse the products on sale. These can be celebrities or social media influencers. For example, Yi Yang Qian Xi(Jackson Yee) and other celebrities from other countries, for example, Taylor Swift, popular America singer and Hanazawa Kana, a popular Japanese singer, and actor. Their goal is to use their influence online to get customers interested in purchasing the products. The social media influencers do a good job not only in endorsing the product but also providing additional information concerning the properties of the product.

The Nov 11 shopping would not be possible without the invention of online shopping. In many ways, shipping has made shopping very convenient, but this convenience has also cost the consumer a lot of time online looking for products among millions of options while trying to grab a good deal among many other options.