Shops unite to fight back against e-commerce tide

Online shopping sites may have become the growing force in China's retail sector - but during this year's Nov 11 Singles' Day shopping festival, many rival bricks-and-mortar companies are uniting to offer big price cuts to fight back.

November was previously considered a quiet month for traditional retailers. However, the advent of the country's biggest annual shopping day now sees many companies shaping their entire year toward the 24-hour sales festival.

This year, traditional retailers such as Beijing Wangfujing Department Store Group Co Ltd, Yintai Retail (Group) Co, and the RT-MART supermarket, said they are joining hands with hundreds of smaller players by introducing large-scale nationwide discounts.