Singles’ Day Shopping Craze

November 11, Handan, Hebei Province: Workers sort piles of parcels at a distribution center.
China’s domestic online shopping platforms have turned November 11 (“Singles’ Day”) into a
shopping holiday in China, a trend that seems to grow stronger every year, even abroad. Singles’
Day was inspired by the numerical appearance of the day: 11/11.
This year, sales volume on Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba’s marketplaces Tmall and Taobao
alone reached 120.7 billion yuan (US$17.73 billion) in just 24 hours. For Chinese consumers,
apparel and accessories, skin care and cosmetics, food and beverage, mobile phones, and digital
products have been the biggest buys over the past two years.