What is Singles’ Day and how does it compare to Black Friday?

Everything you need to know about the biggest shopping day in the world

Singles' Day as we now know it first started 2009.

You might not have heard of it before, but Singles’ Day (November 11) is the largest shopping day of the year. While this is a pretty new phenomenon, you may have spotted signs and ads for Singles’ Day sales popping up online and in some stores.

But how did Singles’ Day start out, and how does it compare to the more familiar Black Friday? Here’s all you need to know about the shopping day.

Where did it all begin?

As mentioned, Singles’ Day is one of the newer ‘shopping holidays’, with 2024 marking its 16th year. However, the concept was initially started in the 1990s by a group of university students in China who decided to buy themselves presents in celebration of being single — a sort of anti-Valentine’s Day.

The anti-Valentine's Day celebration eventually spread to other universities before becoming more of a commercial event in China.

Why is it called Singles’ Day?

November 11 was selected due to its singular digits when written numerically (11.11). The students selected the date because the number 1 looks like a ‘bare branch’ which in China, is slang for a single or ‘unattached’ person. The term comes from the idea that the person would therefore not add branches to the family tree.

How did it turn commercial?

The holiday did originally begin with the idea of buying yourself something in celebration of singledom but in 2009, Singles’ Day was transformed into a huge shopping day full of discounts and offers.

That’s when Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba launched its first shopping event in line with the date, offering a huge 24-hour sale on its platform on November 11, 2009. And it paid off.

The value of Alibaba’s goods sold through its platforms hit $7.8 million on that date in 2009. By 2017, this figure was over $25 billion and trumped Black Friday and Cyber Monday. So, it’s no surprise that other retailers want to make the most of the shopping holiday.

Now, this date is synonymous with shopping in China, much like Black Friday which takes place the day after Thanksgiving in the US.

How does it compare to Black Friday?

While it is not an official holiday in China, Singles’ Day is a bigger deal than Black Friday in terms of sales. According to Forbes, Singles' Day is the largest shopping day in the world and is bigger than Black Friday and Amazon’s Prime Day combined.

What does it mean for Irish shoppers?

While Singles’ Day is a much bigger deal in China, it has definitely caught the interest of retailers across the globe and it is no longer just about Alibaba.

In 2019, a total of 1,400,000 brands took part in the shopping event, which was an increase of over 40% when compared to 2018. This means there are brands, businesses, and platforms that are also taking advantage of the massive shopping festival.

This article was first published on November 10, 2023.