Singles' Day is not only the biggest shopping event in China, but also the largest globally. As the name suggests, it is a day to celebrate singlehood and is observed on November 11 every year. However, the shopping excitement begins weeks earlier, with retailers reportedly minting money.
The day serves as a response to Valentine’s Day. It originated in the 1990s when a group of university students decided that single people needed a day to celebrate themselves. The tradition is believed to have started at Nanjing University in Jiangsu province, eastern China, when four single male students chose November 11 as a day to embrace being single.
Initially called Bachelor’s Day, it gained popularity on campus, spread to other universities, and was soon known as Singles’ Day or Double 11. The trend grew rapidly through social media. In 2009, e-commerce giant Alibaba began offering significant discounts on November 11, transforming the day into a shopping phenomenon even bigger than America’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Ashley Dudarenok, founder of China marketing consultancy ChoZan, noted a shift in sentiment this year, describing it as much calmer. Chinese consumers seemed less drawn into a "buy buy buy" frenzy, instead focusing on higher-end products they genuinely needed rather than simply looking for discounts. She anticipated that Singles’ Day could perform “slightly better” than before, driven by different product categories.
As per a report by World Trade Scanner, students chose November 11 (11/11), because the numeral 1 resembles a bare branch, which in Chinese internet slang symbolizes a single or unmarried man who does not add to the family lineage.
The date 11/11, showing four ones, also represented the four singles who first conceived the idea, symbolizing self-love and a subtle rebellion against societal pressure to find a partner.
Chinese festival World Singles’ Day has been upgraded to ‘Shoppingtainment’
In 2019, around 140,000 brands participated in the shopping festival, marking a growth of over 40 percent from the previous year. While Alibaba initially offered discounts solely on November 11, the approach evolved. The festival expanded beyond a single day, with sales beginning weeks earlier.
TechCrunch reported that Singles’ Day surpassed American shopping holidays by 2.5 times in size. In 2016, Chinese retailers achieved $17.8 billion in sales within 24 hours, triple the combined $5.9 billion from Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Thanksgiving in the U.S. Since then, sales figures continued to climb.
The day has evolved beyond shopping; Alibaba introduced "shoppingtainment" with a televised spectacle on November 10 each year, featuring global celebrities like Taylor Swift, David Beckham, and various K-pop groups, according to Forbes.
Interestingly, the day is no longer limited to China and is gradually becoming a global event. In the U.S., retailers popular with Chinese consumers began offering Singles’ Day deals, and European countries such as Germany and Belgium also joined in.
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In 2021, Alibaba and JD.com broke records with their Singles’ Day sales, amassing a combined $139 billion. Over 11 days, Alibaba reached a gross merchandise volume of $84.54 billion, an increase of over eight percent from the previous year, according to CNBC.
JD.com achieved $54.6 billion, marking a 28 percent rise, fueled by strong demand for luxury items, pet products, and iPhones. Sales from smaller cities also surged, with 77 percent of JD shoppers coming from lower-tier markets.
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