AliExpress bets on the return of group buying: what this means for the future of eCommerce
Group buying is back. Or at least that’s what AliExpress wants to prove by launching Group Buy during its biggest event of the year, 11.11. The strategy puts Brazil back at the center of eCommerce innovation, combining social commerce, gamified experience, and aggressive discounts. And, as always, when the market tests something new, it leaves valuable clues about behavior, opportunity, and where brands need to adjust their digital strategies.
The revival of group buying in eCommerce
If you remember the early days of Peixe Urbano and Groupon, you’ll recall the excitement of securing a huge discount simply by getting a group of people involved. AliExpress is bringing that idea back, reinvented for the social era.
With Group Buy, a shopper creates or joins a group, invites friends, acquaintances and, as the brand playfully suggests in its campaign, even their “enemies”. The bigger the group, the bigger the discount, reaching up to 90 percent on selected products.
The campaign features Popó, Wanderley Silva and other personalities involved in a recent MMA brawl. The message is humorous and clear: it doesn’t matter who you invite, as long as they join the deal.
Why bring this strategy to Brazil now?
According to Briza Rocha Bueno, Managing Director of AliExpress in Brazil, the feature has existed in other markets for more than three years. But it arrived in Brazil only after the company refined the experience specifically for local consumers.
And it makes perfect sense. Social commerce is expanding quickly in Brazil, often faster than in Western markets, mirroring trends from China. Brazilian shoppers are social, curious, highly engaged and extremely responsive to rewards, incentives and interactive buying experiences.
Of course, Brazil has witnessed similar models struggle before. Facily and Peixe Urbano both tried, scaled and eventually collapsed. But AliExpress has something those players never had: global scale, a massive base of active users and mature technology.
When you combine those elements, experiments become cheaper, faster and more likely to succeed.
Group Buy as a strategic laboratory
AliExpress has been very transparent: this is an experiment. A “test and learn” moment to understand how Brazilians embrace collective buying in 2025.
If it works, Group Buy may become an ongoing acquisition and engagement engine within the platform.
If it doesn’t, it becomes just one more iteration in a long list of product experiments the company routinely runs.
This mindset is precisely what many local companies still lack: the discipline and structure to test quickly, measure properly and scale only when there is evidence of real impact.
What this means for businesses operating in eCommerce
This resurgence is not only about nostalgia. It signals new pathways for eCommerce brands to:
Ignoring this movement means missing opportunities to create richer digital journeys and stronger results.
As players like AliExpress push boundaries, the smartest brands observe, learn and adapt strategically.
How Devovea helps eCommerce operations evolve
If you want to understand how initiatives like Group Buy impact your digital strategy, how to integrate social mechanisms into your customer journey or how to strengthen your ecommerce architecture to compete at a global level, Devovea is here to support you.
We combine product strategy, solution architecture and digital commerce expertise to turn ideas into tangible results.
Devovea accelerates eCommerce performance with:
In short, we bring clarity, method and rhythm to your digital operations.
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