Singles Day Q&A: everything you need to know about the biggest online shopping day of the year

E-commerce giant Alibaba has broken its own record for sales on China's Singles Day this year

Zlata Rodionova
Wednesday 11 November 2015 14:34 GMT
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Employees sort packages at a hub of Shentong (STO) Express delivery company in Jiujiang, Jiangxi province, November 11, 2014.
Employees sort packages at a hub of Shentong (STO) Express delivery company in Jiujiang, Jiangxi province, November 11, 2014.

What is singles day?

Singles Day is the biggest shopping day in the world – even bigger than Black Friday.

Really? Where does it comes from?

Singles Day has become a Chinese tradition since students at Nanjing University in the 1990s chose the date as an antidote to Valentine’s Day, so single people could have a day to buy things for themselves.

That’s interesting, so how did we get from student’s tradition to biggest online shopping day in the world?

Back in 2009, e-commerce giant Alibaba started to offer deals on its online shopping platforms on Singles Day, using it as an excuse for self-gifting and indulgence.

Smart move, so how much are we talking in numbers?

Chinese shoppers already surpassed last year’s record before midday on Wednesday with retail giant Alibaba taking up 57.1 billion yuan ($8.97bn, £5.92bn) worth of sales.

Retailers must be happy …

With sales hitting new high year-on-year, Singles Day is a very lucrative business. This year the event has even received support from the government at time when China’s economy is slowing down. Chinese premier Li Keqiang’s office phoned Alibaba chairman Jack Ma hours before the promotion began, “congratulating and encouraging the creation and achievement of the 11.11 event”, said a posting on a social media account of Tmall, the group’s business-to-consumer arm.

That’s crazy, so it takes places every year and always on the same date?

Yes it always takes place on November 11, you may have notice it is written one-one-one-one, or double eleven.

So as a UK customer can I get any discounts today?

Singles Day is not as popular as Black Friday in the UK, still in 2014, Chinese online giant Aliexpress.com saw a 59 per cent growth in one-day UK mobile traffic luring customers with deals, according to digital market intelligence agency SimilarWeb.

Royal Mail also extended its partnership with the e-commerce website so you will be able to take advantages of the offers today. The agreement offers faster and more secure shipping options on Alibaba’s shopping sites for consumers. Delivery times will be cut to two weeks.

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