AI Shopping Tools Gain Traction During China’s Singles Day

Chinese consumers are increasingly using chatbots, virtual clothing trials and automated product research during the Singles Day shopping festival, Reuters reports. Nearly 80 million people used JD.com’s Dongdong shopping assistant, more than three times the previous year’s total.

On Douyin, about 5% of purchases in October came through chatbot links, according to WPIC Marketing + Technologies. The share exceeded 20% for products such as supplements. Platforms operated by Alibaba Group, including Taobao and Tmall, also offer AI product research, virtual clothing trials and discount finding tools.

AI toys generated more than 100 million yuan in sales on Alibaba’s platforms within a year of becoming a product category. Sales of AI companion robots rose nearly fivefold year on year in the second half of October, while Tmall’s sales of AI token packages increased more than 700% from October 15 to November 5 compared with the preceding comparison period.

Singles Day sales rose 2.4% from October 7 to October 31, according to Syntun. Whether AI has lifted overall spending remains unclear, and China Market Research Group's Ben Cavender said brands can lose visibility when shoppers let an AI assistant do the shopping.