By John Dee - President, Resident PlaceWise DJ, Podcaster and Hockey Fan
With a live performance by Taylor Swift and livestreams by Kim Kardashian, China’s Singles Day retail event burst onto the scene with Alibaba selling $800 million in the first minute, $9 billion dollars in the first 20 minutes, and $38 billion by the end of the 24 hour period.
For those new to Singles Day (or what is now being called 11.11 and occurs on November 11 each year), it’s a Chinese retail holiday event created by Alibaba as a response to Valentine’s Day promotions targeted at couples. The event has since grown to become the world’s largest single-day retail event. $38 billion in 24 hours is an impressive number when stacked up against Amazon’s annual revenue of $220 billion or Walmart’s $500+ billion.
In recent years, 11.11 has spread around the world (and to additional Chinese retailers) and it is estimated that this year, well over $60 billion in sales will have been made (it was at $60 by mid afternoon). Those are numbers only China can put up, and despite the talk of a softening economy in China, this year’s 11.11 saw solid growth over last year.
Each year, 11.11 gets more interesting as it spreads across Asia and the world. We expect to see more growth in years to come and even greater integration with brick and mortar retail in the future. This is definitely one annual event to keep an eye on as it evolves.
More information on 11.11: