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MonNov 11

Singles Day – November 11, 2024

What is Singles Day?

Singles Day is celebrated on November 11. It is a Chinese commercial holiday that helps single people show their pride in being single. It started as a paean to being single, where solo students at China’s Nanjing University chose November 11 (because 11/11 looks like a group of sticks) to celebrate, rather than lament being partnerless. It quickly grew into a fun, unofficial holiday in which single people across China treat themselves to nice dinners and splurge on goods they wouldn’t otherwise buy for themselves. From those humble roots, Singles Day has become the single most lucrative online shopping holiday in the world, with sales reaching $25 billion in 2017, easily surpassing Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined.

The Best Singles Day Deals for 2020

Uniqlo

Uniqlo are offering discounts of up to 30% on some of their clothing for Women, Men, and Kids. Click the respective links above to take a look at what is onm offer. 

TOPMAN

TOPMAN are offering anywhere up to 65% of clothes and jackets. Click here to browse through what is on offer.

Foot Locker

Foot Locker are offering Singles Day deals of up to 30% off. Check out the discounts here. 

Best Buy 

Best Buy will be offering a range of discounts on Electronics. Check out their Deals of the Day to see what is available

Steam 

Steam are offering a number of gaming discounts, including up to 20% off new releases and up to 40% off virtual reality games. Check out more here. 

Alibaba 

It wouldn’t be Singles Day without Alibaba having some great deals available. Check out their website to see what you can get your hands on. 

Target 

Target are rumoured to be offering up to 25% off at Target Home as well as discounts of up to 50% elsewhere and some deals and Christmas decorations. Check out the latest deals on their website here. 

Expedia

Expedia are offering flexible flights for under $200

When is Singles Day 2024?

Singles Day in China is always on November 11. The date 11/11 was chosen because it resembles 4 bare sticks.

History of Singles Day

On 11/11/1993 a group of lonely, yet positive, students at Nanjing University decided that instead of lamenting their lack of a significant other, that they would instead celebrate being single. The reasoning? 11/11 looks like four, single sticks, strung together trying to make the most out of their time. 
 
The anti-Valentine’s Day celebration of singledom caught on and spread across universities throughout China, generally characterized by fun, harmless events. For example, one student reserved every other seat in a movie theater, prohibiting couples from sitting next to each other during a screening of Beijing Love Story, an aptly named romantic film. 
 
That level of mischief is the most that holiday’s celebration extends into anti-couples. For the most part, the holiday is a shopping holiday, thanks in part to Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang, who created the first Singles Day sale in 2009, sparking a trend that has surpassed Cyber Monday in single-day transactions. 
 
While the holiday may have gone commercial, the celebrations and theme are still in line with its founding – to celebrate who you are, your friends, and your loved ones, regardless of what your relationship status is. 

Singles Day timeline

11/11/1993
Singles Day is born

The accepted origin story for Singles Day is that a group of male students at Nanjing University decided that on this day they would celebrate, rather than lament, being single.

11/11/2009
Singles Day becomes a shopping holiday

Alibaba CEO Jack Ma instituted the first Singles Day sales in 2009, laying the foundation for the highest grossing shopping day of the year in the world.

11/11/2012
Singles Day surpasses Cyber Monday

Singles Day surpassed Cyber Monday as the biggest online shopping day of the year by more than double.

12/28/2012
Alibaba trademarks Singles Day

It took three years, but in December 2012, Alibaba official tradmarked 双十一 (meaning "Double 11").

11/11/2017
Singles Day hits record for most transactions

Alibaba's mobile wallet app Alipay broke the record for most transactions per second with 256,000.

Singles Day Social Media Buzz

The video above shows the special delivery vehicles.
It seems this year Singles Day is as popular as ever.

Singles Day - Survey Results

Survey done by one of the top Millennial Marketing Agencies:

Singles Day Traditions

Singles Day – similar to Cyber Monday or Black Friday – is a shopping holiday. While it initially started as a celebration of oneself and love of oneself, it has evolved into a chance for individuals to treat themselves to goods and fun products.

Some traditions still remain – like taking yourself out for dinner, taking yourself out to the movies, sheepishly ruining dates, going on “dates” with your other single friends to celebrate independence and self-love. As it grew, and Alibaba got more involved, it became a much more consumer-oriented holiday. Now, traditionally, people buy things on Singles Day, which is part of how it’s become the biggest online shopping day of the year.

Fun Stats About Singles Day

$30 billion

In 2018, Alibaba generated $30b USD in one day, which is almost a 30 percent increase over 2017. 

$1 billion dollars a minute

The first 85 seconds of Singles Day generating $1b USD. 

12:00am

Before sales start on Sunday, the Saturday night beforehand features an electrifying show at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai where in 2018 performances by Cirque de Soleil and Mariah Carey were featured. 

Singles Day FAQs

Is there a singles day?

Yes. Singles Day takes place on November 11 every year. While it started as a day to celebrate being romantically unattached it has turned into the single largest shopping holiday of the year. 
 

What does Singles Day mean?

Singles Day is the English version of Guanggun Jie, which would literally translate to “single sticks day,” a play on words with the way the date 11/11 looks. 
 

Why is Singles Day celebrated?

Singles Day is celebrated because even single people deserve to have their own fun holiday. 
 

Who created Singles Day?

Singles day was created by four, single male students in China at Nanjing University. However, Alibaba CEO Jack Ma turned it into the shopping holiday we all know. 
 

Singles Day Activities

  1. Get out there and mingle, you sassy single

    Singles Day in China got its start as "Bachelor's Day"—and many singles would absolutely love to meet that right someone. Why not throw a blind date mixer for you and your single friends? Who knows what could happen?!

  2. Splurge on that outrageous something for you

    Retailers all over the world are introducing unique, singles-oriented deals in Alibaba's footsteps. Take advantage of the special promotions—ticket for 1 to Fiji? Yes, please.

  3. Write an appreciation list for yourself and post it to social media

    Take a moment and list at least 10 things you appreciate about yourself—you're paying your own bills, you went to yoga class today, you're crushing it at work. Share it with your friends and see what awesomeness you inspire. Chances are, if you're loving on yourself, in short order, others will be too.

Take the Holiday Shopping Quiz

5 Mind Blowing Facts About Singles Day

  1. It made $25 Billion in 24 hours

    Singles Day 2017 was the single biggest shopping day in world history raking in more than $25 billion, a 40% increase over 2016.

  2. 140,000 brands listed more than 15 million products

    The best selling products were in the wellness and baby product categories such as vitamins, diapers, and formula. 

  3. 812 million packages were shipped

    This colossal number is made even more mind blowing by the fact that the first order was delivered within 12.18 minutes of purchase. 

  4. 1.48 billion online transactions were recorded

    Alibaba's Alipay platform recorded 1.48 billion online transactions during the 24-hour period. 90% were on mobile. 

  5. Singles Day bested Prime Day in minutes

    Amazon Prime Day 2017 sold roughly $1 Billion in merchandise over 24 hours, Singles Day beat that in 2 minutes. 

Why We Love Singles Day

  1. You get to shop for yourself

    Sure, it's fun getting gifts on your birthday, Christmas and Hanukkah—but how can people know what you really want? Today, you get to shop for you. I'm not just talking about buying yourself flowers or a nice meal. Today is the day to show yourself some real love and appreciation. Go on, indulge. Get that new leather jacket, or fancy wine club membership—you have earned it.

  2. You can see you really aren't alone

    Most newspapers, magazines, TV shows and movies make it seem like everyone is coupled up. (Like, how come nobody ever chooses "it's complicated" for their relationship status, anymore?) But, since 2014, single adults outnumber married adults in the United States—and the difference is only growing. Take time today to revel in the knowledge that YOU, single person, are part of the majority!

  3. You can do what you want when you want to

    What do you want to eat tonight? Where would you like to vacation? Is it ok to splurge on those jeans you've been eying? When you're single, you can do what makes you happy. No compromises necessary.

Singles Day dates

YearDateDay
2024November 11Monday
2025November 11Tuesday
2026November 11Wednesday
2027November 11Thursday
2028November 11Saturday

Let’s get social

#SinglesDay #SinglesDaySales #SinglesDayShooping

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