If you asked the universe for steep discounts on the items in your shopping wishlist, you’re in luck: Singles’ Day, the biggest shopping holiday in Asia, is coming up! Its popularity is still growing in the West, but past Singles’ Day events have already seen record-breaking sales figures that have far eclipsed major shopping events in the U.S. Here’s what you need to know about this holiday:
Singles’ Day was a holiday created by college students.
Singles’ Day was reportedly started in 1993 by four male dormers at Nanjing University who, in a bid to break the monotony of singlehood, agreed to hold events celebrating their relationship status (or lack thereof).
The Singles’ Day Shopping Festival started in 2009.
In 2009, the Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba capitalized on Singles’ Day by offering massive promos. 27 merchants participated in its first year, generating around 50m yuan (around 7m USD) in sales.
It’s mainly an online shopping event.
Other Asian e-commerce companies have since joined the Singles’ Day bandwagon, launching their own Singles’ Day promotions. Online shopping discounts are combined with offline entertainment, such as televised events studded with Hollywood a-listers, to further stoke the shopping frenzy.
The sales generated from Singles’ Day is larger than the figures from Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday combined.
In 2018, over 180,000 brands participated in Singles’ Day, raking in an estimated $30.8 billion in sales over a 24-hour period. In contrast, Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday only generated a combined $16.14 billion in gross merchandise volume.
It’s gradually spreading globally.
E-commerce retailers outside of Asia are slowly but surely adopting Singles’ Day, launching Singles’ Day campaigns of their own. Expect bigger discounts and better deals this year!
Marianne is Nixplay’s Web Content Editor. Her hobbies include exploring new places, playing table tennis, and cuddling puppies. Send her a message at marianne.salazar@nixplay.com.