As a dating coach and dating consultant, I like the concept of Singles Day. Let me back up for a minute---the only thing I’m not crazy about is that it falls on Veteran’s Day, which is a day 100% devoted to the brave men and women who have served our country. Thank you for your service; we are so fortunate to live in the US and have you.
Alas Veteran's Day, the number 11 is auspicious in the Chinese culture, thus November 11 (11/11—just in case you haven’t had your coffee yet) is a day in China for singles to go crazy and treat themselves to small gifts, HUGE gifts and just celebrate singledom. Wow, does Alibaba have a brilliant marketing plan with this celebration---$1billion dollars a minute is spent today!
And, why not? Marrieds celebrate their anniversaries with gifts, International Woman’s Day on March 8 is a sweet day (though not so much recognized in the US) as are Mother’s and Father’s Day.
So, while writing dating profiles and doing my normal dating coaching today, I plan to check and see if any these deals apply in the US. Maybe I’ll get lucky.
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 2021?
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 DAYS AROUND THE WORLD
Let’s look at some other holidays that are all about being single.
Singles Days Around the World
Country
Holiday
Occasion
Date
South Korea
Black Day
South Koreans who weren't given any Valentine's Day gifts eat Jajangmyeon noodles, which is noodles with black sauce.
April 14
United States
Singles Awareness Day
The day after Valentine's Day single people gather to celebrate their single status.
February 15
Finland
Ystävänpäivä (Friendship Day)
Instead of celebrating their romantic partners, the good people of Finland spend February 14 celebrating friends and lovers.
February 14
United Kingdom
National Singles Day
A day for single people to enjoy and celebrate being single.
March 11
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.
Comments