Singles' Day alters the global retail calendar, even here

Move aside Christmas turnover, Singles’ Day is the world’s largest shopping holiday – by far. Last year, Alibaba generated a 22 billion euro turnover in a single day! As even local websites (like Bol.com) are starting to take advantage of the day, are we heading to a new retail calendar?

Larger than Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Amazon Prime Day together

A holiday for yourself, that is Singles’ Day. Started out as a countermeasure to Valentine’s Day in China, a country where the one-child policy has led to a huge surplus of single men, this day entirely fits the times in which we live: it is a day where consumers shop online to find a treat for themselves. It will only be a matter of time before Singles’ Day also becomes important in Western Europe, considering the rise in bachelors and millennials’ insistence on taking care of themselves.

The numbers are astonishing: Alibaba generated about as much as it did in the entire month of September in just two minutes (!) of Singles’ Day – about two billion dollars. Amazon and the entire Anglo-Saxon retail world could only watch on in awe. Alibaba offered customers a choice of millions of products from 140,000 retailers and brands, including a wide ranging like Apple, Maserati, P&G and Target – but also smaller local suppliers, even in food.

The numbers easily blow Black Friday (and its hastily-added digital brother Cyber Monday) out of the water, despite the fact that American retailers have been trying to export these days for many years. These attempts can not be described as much more than “adorable”, as analyst GlobalData calculated that the entire week’s turnover would reach 10 billion dollars (+ 3.8 %). Compare that to the 16 billion euros that Alibaba and Chinese rival JD.com make on Singles’ Day alone. Singles’ Day is also eighteen times larger than Amazon Prime Day, according to marketing strategist Igor Beuker.

Spoiling holiday

Western European webshops like Bol.com and Media Markt have also joined the Double 11 Shopping Festival, as Singles’ Day is called as well, as did producers like Ici Paris XL, Hunkemöller and H&M also participated. For Ahold Delhaize subsidiary Bol.com, it was its “busiest Saturday of the year“, exceeding all turnover forecasts. Nevertheless, Black Friday is still more important for Bol.com at this point.

Tens of thousands products were sold on Singles’ Day, mainly “gifts to spoil oneself”, with perfume and beauty products being the top sellers. “Considering the social development, Singles’ Day will gain importance over here as well, not in the least because of stores and web shops’ special offers. It is important to put yourself first instead of someone else, whether you are single or not”, marketing professor Cor Molenaar forecasts.

Singles’ Day can also offer Belgian and Dutch (web)shops an opportunity, especially seeing how Belgians are in favour of an opportunity to spoil themselves. Moreover, manufacturers from both countries could use the day to present themselves to Chinese consumers as a luxury brand, exceedingly apt to spoil themselves: European products are generally already associated with luxury in China.

Non-stop spectacle at Jack Ma’s court

It is also important to remember that Singles’ Day is more than just another discount day: in China, it is a non-stop spectacle for the full 24 hours. Victoria and David Beckham flew over just to count down with Jack Ma himself, and for this year’s edition Nicole Kidman and Pharrell Williams (and an endless list of movie and music celebrities) will be present. The entire show can be seen on television, on the radio and internet. 

Alibaba boss Jack Ma embraced Singles’ Day early on and now uses it to spread his strategy and vision. Like the Sun King, he directs the entire day of festivities. He even played a role in one of the movies that premiered in the countdown show: a documentary about tai chi, a sport he also practicions. Singles’ Day is the Chinese retail king’s own celebration and soon we will all celebrate with (or bow to) him.