Singles' Day: increasingly important for e-commerce
Thanks to billions in sales in China, Singles' Day on November 11 is now the highest-grossing online shopping event—bigger than Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined. This day is all about big discounts, lightning-fast deals, and the motto: treat yourself. The day originated in 1993 at Nanjing University in China, where four students wanted to create a humorous counterpart to Valentine's Day. They chose November 11 because the four ones symbolize being single.
Developing into a billion-dollar sales driver
In 2009, Alibaba picked up on this idea and turned it into a global e-commerce spectacle with mega discounts, live streams, and targeted marketing campaigns. Since then, Singles' Day has developed into a billion-dollar sales driver that breaks new records every year. Unlike Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which originated in the US and take place around Thanksgiving weekend, Singles' Day has a fixed date and focuses on a compact 24-hour fireworks display of discounts. While Black Friday and Cyber Monday often stretch over several days or even weeks, Singles' Day bundles purchasing power into a single, highly intense day of sales.
For retailers worldwide, 11/11 is a strategic opportunity to attract new customers, reactivate existing customers, reduce inventory, and boost sales ahead of the Christmas shopping season.