What is Singles Day, a brief overview?
A decade ago, November 11th was a tongue-in-cheek cultural “celebration” of single people in China. In 2009, Alibaba turned the day into China’s own Black Friday or Cyber Monday. However, this public holiday easily puts them all to shame.
Sales from the event hits record highs this year
Sales from this one-day event has nearly doubled those from 2016’s Amazon Prime Day, Black Friday, Cyber Monday in the US combined.
- Alibaba reported that sales from this event amounted to $25.3 billion, a 40% jump from the previous year’s figures.
- Furthermore, this number does not take into account sales that began weeks prior in honour of the event.
- Alibaba also hit a record $18 billion in just 13 hours on Saturday, eclipsing last year’s record of $17.8 billion in 24 hours.
Market research experts say the massive growth is attributed to retailers competing for a share of consumer spending in China’s growing economy. In comparison, US sales between Thanksgiving until Cyber Monday accounted for $12.8 billion last year.
Several A-List celebrities would also appear
Fans of Western celebrities would have been delighted as celebrities like Nicole Kidman, Pharrel, Jessie J and Maria Sharapova entered the stage.
