B2B Ecommerce Platform Data Reveals Trending Sales Categories during Record-Setting Annual Sales Event in September B2B Pulse

US Businesses Apply for Alibaba.com’s Grants Program by the Thousands; Submissions Closing on October 21

Alibaba.com, one of the world’s largest B2B ecommerce marketplaces and a business unit of Alibaba Group (NYSE: BABA), is set to host their next virtual trade show, titled Online Trade Show | Autumn, from October 18-31, 2021. The show will feature more than 9,000 verified suppliers showcasing over six million trending products across 30 product categories with special offers to facilitate digital B2B global trade.

The Online Trade Show | Autumn offers include On-Time Delivery Services for all exhibitors*, access to the CEOs of leading suppliers during CEO Live sessions, Free Inspection Services** and a Green Pavilion with third-party certified eco-friendly products.

The trade show is the 34th virtual trade show that Alibaba.com has hosted since the start of the global health crisis, which have resulted in a combined attendance of 10+ million business buyers, 50,000+ select exhibitors, and 20,000+ livestreams. The virtual event is designed to build on the momentum of a record-breaking Super September, Alibaba.com’s biggest annual platform-wide sales event, which saw a 35% increase in sales over the 2020 event.

“Even as economies reopen and in-person events resume, virtual trade shows and events are here to stay,” said John Caplan, President of North America and Europe of Alibaba.com. “We’ve seen unprecedented participation in digital trade over the past 18 months as US businesses realized they can meet leading suppliers and efficiently transact on our global B2B ecommerce marketplace. Our team is dedicated to our mission of making it easy to do business anywhere and is continuously building tools, services, events, insights and programs that allow entrepreneurs to worry less and spend less, while selling more.”

The Online Trade Show | Autumn follows a successful Super September that kicked off with Alibaba.com’s announcement of newly added tools and services at the start of the month to support customers’ product research and discovery, online exhibition and sourcing, and, critically, upgraded logistics services as well as provide funding through the $500,000 Alibaba.com Grants Program. All were launched to support the growth of U.S. small and medium-sized businesses, especially the more than 200,000 “New Digital Entrepreneurs” who have emerged during the pandemic as a major force in ecommerce.

TOP SUPER SEPTEMBER GROWTH CATEGORIES

In July, Alibaba.com introduced a monthly Alibaba.com B2B Pulse to provide valuable insights by aggregating macroeconomic developments relevant to US small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and sharing proprietary insights into US B2B demand based on platform trade data.

The September Alibaba.com B2B Pulse compares September 2020 to September 2021 and reveals the top growth categories on the platform and finds US B2B companies ramping up trade in line with three major trends:

Return to in-person: US companies increased trade of Commercial Service Equipment by 142% year-over-year, which is inclusive of trade show equipment and restaurant and hotel supplies, showing that companies are planning for a return to in-person business events, dining and hotel stays as cases begin to subside.

Holiday shopping: The 109% increase in Toys and Hobbies orders finds companies making last-minute orders to stock up ahead of the holiday shopping season.

Home renovations: And a 71% jump in Construction and Real Estate is driven largely by a continued boom in home construction and renovation.

The full analysis of macro and platform data is available at: https://activity.alibaba.com/ggs/alibaba_com_b2b_pulse_september_2021.html

ALIBABA.COM GRANTS PROGRAM RECEIVES THOUSANDS OF APPLICATIONS

The first-ever $500,000 Alibaba.com Grants Program was announced in early September and has received thousands of applications. The program is hosted with Hello Alice and will award the top 50 applicants with $10,000 cash grants. Applicants also gain access to the Alibaba.com Digitization Sprint for Retailers, an online curriculum to equip them with integral know-how on key business topics such as ecommerce basics, marketing and customer engagement, sourcing and supply chain, business operations as well as overall business growth.

The program is open for applicants to submit their product idea or go-to-market strategy at hialice.co/alibaba until October 21, 2021. Alibaba.com will announce the grant recipients in December.

*On-time Delivery Service applies to select products only and is subject to Terms and Conditions

**Terms & Conditions: Apply for free product monitoring or inspection services; Orders of ≥US $1,000 are eligible for free production monitoring services; Orders ≥US $5,000 are eligible for free production monitoring or inspection services; Note: Benefits are only applicable for Trade Assurance orders placed with new sellers (October 18, 2021 - January 17, 2022).

About Alibaba.com

The first business unit of Alibaba Group, Alibaba.com is a leading platform for global B2B e-commerce that aims to make it easy to do business anywhere. Launched in 1999, Alibaba.com is engaged in services covering all aspects of commerce, including providing businesses with tools that help reach a global audience for their products and helping buyers discover products, find suppliers, and place orders online fast and efficiently. It serves millions of buyers and suppliers from over 200 countries and regions around the world.

About Alibaba Group

Alibaba Group's mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere. The company aims to build the future infrastructure of commerce. It envisions that its customers will meet, work and live at Alibaba, and that it will be a company that lasts at least 102 years.

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