Throughout the year, we see numerous shopping events characterized by massive discounts, both online and in physical stores.
Among these are well-known days like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the increasingly popular Singles Day.
Today, we take a closer look at Singles Day, a shopping event that has left its mark in the U.S. and is gradually gaining traction in other parts of the world.
The history behind Singles Day
The idea of Singles Day originated in China in the early 1990s. It started as a protest against traditional holidays that celebrated romantic relationships, instead creating a day to celebrate single life.
The chosen date, November 11th (11/11), symbolically represents single individuals as the date consists solely of ones.
In the 2010s, the founder of the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba embraced the celebration of singlehood, turning it into a major e-commerce event with discounts on a wide range of products.
Each year on Singles Day, Alibaba hosts numerous Live Shopping events.
Since then, Singles Day has grown into one of the largest shopping events in China, the U.S., and Europe, often extending into a week-long celebration known as Singles Week, leading up to November 11th.
Singles driving massive sales
The day, originally created in opposition to holidays celebrating couples, has become a thriving global shopping event, surpassing Black Friday in China.
In 2020, Alibaba reported a record $74.1 billion in sales during Singles Day, while Black Friday sales in the U.S. totaled $9 billion in the same year.
While Singles Day is not as widespread in Denmark as in the U.S. or China, it is steadily growing. According to Dansk Erhverv, sales on Singles Day exceed regular days as more webshop owners offer attractive deals to consumers.
In the U.S., the date 11/11 itself, rather than its association with the Chinese tradition, often helps solidify the day’s recognition, making it easy for customers to remember.
For webshop owners, Singles Day serves as an excellent opportunity to test campaigns and system setups ahead of Black Friday.
The future of Singles Day
The international growth of Singles Day suggests continued expansion, despite Black Friday and Cyber Monday maintaining their stronghold as the biggest shopping days in the U.S. and many other regions.
Many consumers use these days to shop for Christmas gifts, but Singles Day’s proximity to payday makes it particularly attractive for shoppers.
In my opinion, we can expect more webshops to invest resources in Singles Day and draw increasing customer interest in using November 11th as a prime shopping opportunity.
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