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What is Singles' Day? The Chinese Shopping Holiday That Puts Black Friday to Shame

Singles' Day is the globe's biggest shopping holiday, but most Americans don't know what it is.
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You've heard of (and participated in) shopping holidays like Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day, but China's biggest shopping holiday, Singles' Day, outdoes all of those as the largest physical and online retail day in the entire world. The shopping festival, also known as Double 11, takes place on November 11 each year, chosen for the date's abundance of single digits.

Singles' Day began in the 1990s as the brainchild of a group of university students with the goal to celebrate single living. In 2009, Alibaba took over the holiday, marketing it as a festival for singles to treat themselves with retail therapy as a distraction from their relationship status. More than just a day for shopping, the holiday launches with an opening gala that has featured performances by Mariah Carey, Taylor Swift, and Pharrell Williams. Growing to epic proportions in 2015, Alibaba set a Guinness World Record for the highest online shopping revenue ever generated in a 24-hour period. 

Taylor Swift with 3 background dancers performing at the 2019 Singles' Day opening gala.
Taylor Swift performs at the 2019 Singles' Day opening gala.

Just like Black Friday, brands and retailers increase excitement for the holiday by launching pre-sales leading up to the actual date of the shopping event. It's also become common to incorporate gaming, livestreams, and exclusive content into the Singles' Day experience. This year, Alibaba even decided to host two Singles' Day celebrations, one running from November 1 to November 3, and the second beginning on November 11, so shoppers have twice the opportunity to score a great deal, and likewise for retailers hit by the coronavirus to benefit from the holiday's success.

With China's booming luxury market, many high fashion labels participate in the festival, and for 2020, Christian Dior is releasing a special capsule collection dedicated to Singles' Day. While primarily targeted toward China, some Western retailers have also hopped on the trend after seeing its rapid growth. 

Overall, Alibaba's goal is to bring international products to the Chinese consumer market. And while Singles' Day hasn't broached the U.S. entirely, a country that loves its shopping holidays, the embrace of the China-based international online retail event has brought participation from major names like Esteé Lauder, Net-A-Porter, and Apple.

pink and blue screen 500 keeping track of Alibaba's sales each year.
The screen keeps track of Alibaba's sales each year.

It only makes sense that as culture universally becomes more international, Singles Day will join the lineup of holiday shopping events, right alongside—or even more highly anticipated than—Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which have established themselves as modern American holiday traditions

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