Nicole Kidman has seen many sides of China during her 15-plus visits, but never anything like Alibaba’s 11.11 Global Shopping Festival.
As the honored guest at this year’s gala at Shanghai’s Mercedes-Benz Arena, the highly acclaimed Oscar and Emmy winner said she’s impressed by the overall scale of the shopping event, which she would like to see replicated elsewhere in the world.
“This is something I wish we had in the States, because it is such a festive launch to something so exciting. It is a really smart idea,” she said, describing 11.11 as a fun celebration that connects people together.
Since its inception in 2009, 11.11 has become the biggest 24-hour shopping and entertainment festival anywhere. It’s 18 times bigger than Amazon Prime Day and 2.5 times larger than Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined. This year, over 15 million products from more than 140,000 top brands and merchants will be up for grabs on Tmall.com, Alibaba’s premier online marketplace.
With “retail-as-entertainment” as a central theme for this year’s 11.11, Kidman and a handful of other international mega-stars, such as British pop singer Jessie J, tennis player Maria Sharapova and Pharrell Williams will also be part of the countdown party to kick off the event that starts at midnight.
At the glamorous invitation-only shindig, Kidman will also be presenting the movie “Gong Shou Dao”– a short film about Tai Chi and Chinese culture produced and starring Alibaba founder Jack Ma, along with a veritable Who’s Who of Asian martial arts legends.
“I think it is so fantastic that he has done this. It is such an honor to be able to present it,” said the star of Big Little Lies, an HBO series she co-produced with Reese Witherspoon. The series won almost every category it was nominated for during this year’s Emmy Awards season.
Though this is Kidman’s first time experiencing the 11.11 shopping frenzy from up close, she is certainly no stranger to online shopping.
As one of Hollywood’s most sought-after actresses and a mother who is involved in multiple projects simultaneously, time has become a sacred commodity for Kidman. At the moment, she is preparing for production of Big Little Lies 2, as well as to star in several movies, including Aquaman and the crime-thriller, The Destroyer.
“Time for me is limited. This is why I shop online. I can go and look. I can put it into a shopping bag quickly. I can purchase it, and it is done,” she said.
But online shopping is about more than convenience and time-saving. It has also become a fun bonding experience in Kidman’s household
“I am a working mother, so the chances of me having the time to go to many different stores with my children in tow, that’s tricky for me. So, it is so much easier to stay in our kitchen and scroll through the websites,” she said.
Together, they have purchased an array of products via cyberspace, from toys to winter coats to this year’s Halloween costumes for the entire family.
“Online shopping is the future, and I am so glad I’ve adapted to it,” she said.
