China’s Singles Day shopping festival puts AI selling power to the test

China's premier month-long Singles Day shopping festival has put AI selling power to the test. AI-driven chatbots are recommending, directing, and completing purchases for consumers, while AI-enabled devices such as toys and robots are being heavily promoted. Alibaba, JD.com, and PDD Holdings have all embraced AI to keep cautious consumers engaged amid fierce competition.

Alibaba's Tmall and Taobao platforms offer AI-driven research, virtual try-ons, and tools to help users find discounts. On Douyin, AI drove roughly 5% of purchases through chatbot links in October, with that share exceeding 20% for considered purchases such as supplements. AI has become more embedded in the Chinese shopping experience due to the dominance of super apps, which allow AI agents to conduct research, complete transactions, apply coupons, and schedule deliveries without the shopper needing to use a separate app.

AI devices, including AI toys and companion robots, are growing in popularity, with AI toys surpassing 100 million yuan in sales on Alibaba's platforms within one year of launching and AI companion robots sales rising nearly fivefold year-on-year in the second half of October. However, it remains to be seen whether AI has excited consumers sufficiently to boost overall spending.