The Brazilian retail calendar is no longer the same. Driven by e-commerce giants like Shopee, Amazon, and Mercado Livre, 'double dates,' or spike days, are reshaping how consumers shop and, more importantly, how we, as market leaders, need to prepare to sell.
The race for new sales opportunities in Brazilian e-commerce is reshaping the retail calendar, and the strategy behind it has a name: "double dates." Originating in China through an initiative by Alibaba, which transformed 11/11 (Singles' Day) into a global sales event, these dates have become a phenomenon in Brazil.
The power of this movement is undeniable: in the last edition, 11/11 generated $203.6 billion globally in a single day, a value four times greater than the annual revenue of Brazilian e-commerce. This new dynamic demands a new strategic approach, where each month has the potential to generate peaks in demand.
But here, we're already seeing impressive results too. On July 7th, a double date marking Shopee's anniversary, our Magis5 system processed half a million orders. This volume surpassed the total orders of all marketplaces on the last Black Friday. During peak hours, our platform exceeded 40,000 orders per hour, demonstrating the robustness needed to handle peak demand.
All this movement is due to the demand for Shopee, but also for other marketplaces. Aware of Shopee's offensive, networks like Mercado Libre and Amazon have also launched bold discounts and promotions.
Mercado Libre has lowered the minimum purchase amount for free shipping and invested in advertising campaigns starring big names like Neymar and Ronaldo Fenômeno.
In turn, Amazon has instituted Amazon Day – usually around the 15th of each month. It's not necessarily a double date, but the day of special offers is defined as a reaction to Shopee's own double-date strategy.
Given this new reality, it is crucial to alert e-commerce managers and large sellers. This entrepreneurial force, composed of Brazilians who find in e-commerce a significant source of income, needs to be prepared to take advantage of the growing marketplace race. Professionalization is no longer an option, but a requirement to meet demand and maintain competitiveness.
I want to emphasize the need for sellers to be prepared to take advantage of this marketplace boom. It's necessary to invest more and more in professionalization to meet the demands of marketplaces and the requirements of consumers. Integrated management, meticulous inventory control, and meeting deadlines are no longer differentiators, but basic requirements for those seeking competitiveness and scale. In short, integrated management that can withstand these waves of demand.
It's no longer about waiting and focusing on Black Friday. Every month now has its potential.
