Alibaba’s (9988) e-commerce platform Taobao Tmall Hong Kong said it will offer more than 1 billion yuan (HK$1.09 billion) in subsidies for its free-shipping program during the Double 11 shopping festival, underscoring the tech giant’s latest push in overseas expansion.
At a media briefing on Wednesday, the platform said the free-shipping program, launched in mid-August, now covers nearly all lightweight items-up from just one-third previously.
To enhance accessibility, Taobao Tmall Hong Kong has added Octopus and WeChat Pay HK as payment options and launched an English-language version of the app with prices displayed in Hong Kong dollars. The English-speaking segment makes up about 10 percent of its customer base, including expatriates and domestic workers.
Pei Xi, head of Taobao Tmall Hong Kong, noted that Hong Kong remains heavily reliant on brick-and-mortar retail, with online shopping accounting for only about 16-18 percent of total retail sales, compared with 40-50 percent on the mainland—signaling strong growth potential for e-commerce.
The presale period for Double 11 will run from October 15 to 20, with official sales starting October 20 and lasting until November 14.
Alibaba’s logistics arm Cainiao Hong Kong expects a delivery peak around November 16–17.
Earlier, Alibaba announced it would allocate another 1 billion yuan toward overseas marketing and set a goal of helping 100,000 merchants double their cross-border sales during this year’s Double 11 gala.
