11-11: Single’s Day shopping frenzy, what it’s all about

WHAT’S THIS SALE FRENZY ALL ABOUT? The Singles' Day — or Double 11, was originally called Bachelors' Day. It’s a Chinese unofficial holiday and shopping season that celebrates people who are not in relationships. It started as an “anti-Valentine’s Day” for singles to enjoy shopping. Year after year, sales have smashed the previous record. In 2020, Alibaba and JD reportedly racked up a record $115 billion in total gross merchandise value (GMV)..

'ANTI-VALENTINE'S DAY' SALE: The date, 11 November (11/11), was coined by Chinese university students in the 1990s to unofficially celebrate a person’s singledom. The numeral 1 resembles a bare stick, which is Chinese Internet slang for an unmarried man who does not add "branches" to the family tree. The four '1's also abstractly refer to the demographic group of single people, thus symbolising solo living and experiences.

WHO STARTED IT? Alibaba debuted Singles’ Day in 2009. It has since been expanded to grow into a nationwide marathon of frantic bargain-hunting, which dwarfs US sales events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday. To its credit, Alibaba has been making a concerted effort to lower the barriers to entry for global companies, not least because of the huge and growing demand from Chinese consumers for international brands and products.

CAN NON-SINGLES ALSO PARTICIPATE? Yes. Anyone can. It’s just become the world’s top marketing gimmick. The holiday has become a popular date on which to celebrate relationships: more than 4,000 couples got married in Beijingon this date in 2011, far greater than the daily average of 700 marriages. The holiday has become the largest physical retail and online shopping day in the world. 

BIGGEST SHOPPING EVENT: Alibaba shoppers exceeded 213.5 billion yuan ($30.7 billion) in total spend during 2018 Singles Day. It has become the world’s biggest shopping event day of the year. It generates more sales than “Black Friday” and "Cyber Monday” combined.

WHAT IT'S LIKE: It's a star-studied affair. In 2017, there were performances from Grammy and Academy award-winning rapper Pharrell and British pop singer Jessie J. There was Hollywood star Nicole Kidman too. In 2018, the event kicked off with a four-hour gala featuring numerous celebrities, including the model Miranda Kerr and the singer Mariah Carey. This year, Benedict Cumberbatch is set to make an appearance at the gala even tomorrow.

GLOBAL SHOPPING FESTIVAL: During 11.11 2021, shoppers could earn points for additional discounts by playing an integrated game. It’s not just about sales transactions, it’s actually a lot more than that — it’s about entertainment and engagement with consumers. It celebrates shopping. Each year, organisers try to elevate the experience for both consumers and merchants to make it fun for them to shop and experience.

PUMPED-UP EVENT FOR BRANDS BIG AND SMALL: Compared to Prime Day or Cyber Monday, 11.11 is an event in the true sense of the word. It comes complete with a gala, digital games that offer discounts and product discovery, countless live-streamed performances and presentations, pumped up product launches, AR and VR experiences and more. In China, an equal opportunity market, there's a demand for US and European brands, too, not just the big names. For example, Tmall has developed the Pitch Fest programme to help small to medium businesses make their 11.11 debut. | Delivery workers move parcels from an automated sorting belt to carts at a JD.com's smart logistics center on Singles Day shopping festival, in Beijing, China November 11, 2020.

FOUR-HOUR GALA: In 2018, the event kicked off with a four-hour gala featuring numerous celebrities, including the model Miranda Kerr and the singer Mariah Carey. In this year's edition Benedict Cumberbatch is set to make an appearance at the gala even tomorrow.

SMASHING RECORDS: Singles' Day has increasingly become international, smashing its record year after year, thanks to its star-studded promoters, which helps the event gain international headlines. It has signed up US celebrities like singer Taylor Swift and Scarlett Johansson, while livestreaming stars and deep discounts form a cocktail of a global retail party.

EXTENDED: In 2020, Alibaba expanded what it calls the world's biggest online shopping festival from a one-day November 11 event into a 11-day extravaganza, with celebrity performances and a sales metric ticking over live on a scoreboard that ended with the news that it had racked up $74 billion in orders, or "gross merchandise value" (GMV), flashing big and bright. Employees sort parcels at a warehouse in Beijing on November 11, 2020.

INTERNATIONAL SHOPPPING EVENT: With endorsers like Nicole Kidman, there's no doubting the international appeal of Singles' Day. This year, the shopping spree is set for its most sober tone ever, as the retail giant preaches sustainability rather than hyping the usual sales boom amid calls by Beijing to promote "common prosperity".

IS ALIBABA THE ONLY SINGLES’ DAY PLATFORM? No. Almost every online retailer has joined this global retail festival, driven by the digital payments. For example, rivals such as JD.com hosts Singles' Day festival as well, which garnered $19.1 billion (in 2018), bringing the Chinese total to $44.5 billion total sales volume in 2017.

2019: In 2019, Alibaba said that its gross merchandise volume for the whole event came in at 268.4 billion yuan (USD $38.4 billion), an increase of 26% from the previous year.

HOW MUCH DID IT GENERATE IN 2020? The 2020 edition posted sales of $75 billion in sales, a frenzy of Chinese consumption. China’s Li Jiaqi, a top livestream salesman widely known as the “lipstick brother,” sold $1.9 billion in goods on the first day of the annual shopping festival, as the country’s consumers splash out, Bloomberg reported.

DATA-DRIVEN: There's a difference of culture, too. Many of the Chinese social and ecommerce sites will share data with merchants; this is in contrast to retail platforms in the US and even Europe, where data protection laws are much tighter, but which limits customer engagement.

DOUBLE 11: During the Double 11 shopping festival, consumers have much greater access to product insights, which can prove valuable in shaping consumer behaviour, as well as the future strategy of producers and retailers. It's a software-driven event, where data analytics is key: a subset of gives each brand its own storefront; each is also given access to a full-fledged CRM system where they can see a host of consumer demographics, macro-category trends and competitive analysis.

STAR LIVESTREAMERS: Viya, one of China's top livestreamers, sold about 8 billion yuan ($1.25 billion) worth of goods in one day, in a show that lasted 14 hours. Another star, Cherie, had sales of about 1.2 billion yuan, according to taosj.com.

WHAT’S THE SCENE IN THE UAE? Singles’ Day sales have become a big hit in the UAE, as shoppers to get huge deals and offers. Many retailers are offering up to 80% off online. This has made November the sale season around the world.

AVAILABLE FROM NOVEMBER 9: Amazon.ae announced on Monday that the 11.11 sale is back once again this year from November 10 to 12, with thousands of deals for customers in the UAE to enjoy. Prime members on Amazon.ae will also get the chance to enjoy 24-hour early access to the sale, with deals available from midnight on November 9.

UP TO 70% OFF AT AMAZON.AE: Customers shopping the 11.11 sale on Amazon.ae will have access to discounts of up to 70 per cent off, and deals on local and international brands across all categories, including beauty, fashion, home, beauty, toys, and electronics.

UP TO 80% OFF AT NOON.COM: Noon is promising 'crazy price drops' kicking off the month-long sale frenzy, starting with a 11.11 sale on November 10 until November 12. With up to 80 percent off site-wide, shoppers can also snag Buy 1 Get 1 Free deals on fashion, beauty, watches and eyewear.

YELLOW FRIDAY SALE: Noon is also holding a Yellow Friday Sale, with price drops across all brands, up to 70 percent off top tech, exclusive bundles, daily flash sales, and unmissable deals from Dh1 every six hours. This sale will be held from November 22 until midnight on November 28.