E-tailers in China have generated plenty of buzz with their flashy ads in the lead-up to the Singles Day shopping gala on Nov 11, but the complexity of some of the promotions have put off even the most avid bargain hunters.

Online shopping platforms such as Tmall, JD.com and Amazon.com have made early starts to build up anticipation ahead of the major event by launching pre-sale activities.

Tmall, an online platform of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, is attracting customers by dishing out promotions on more than 15 million products from 140,000 brands on its marketplace. The company will also up the ante in its social media efforts by providing more interactive content and entertainment, said Daniel Zhang, CEO of Alibaba.