What sales event drives more sales than Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined? That would be China's Singles Day, launched in 2009 by Alibaba, and rolling out to the rest of the planet, if Jack Ma has his way, by 2019.
So, what is Singles Day? Pretty much like it sounds, it's a day to celebrate people who are not married. (Single's Day is set on 11/11 because of its four single numerals.) This year, the event generated more than $9.34 billion in sales, breaking the previous record of $5.75 billion set last year and more than three times 2012's $3 billion.
This year was the first time that Alibaba promoted its AliExpress, an English-language marketplace for consumers outside of China.
A U.S. site, Dealmoon.com, which targets Chinese-Americans, offered more than 120 Single Day offers from brands and retailers including Lancome, Origins, Kate Spade, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale's, Starbucks, Gilt and more.
Overstock.com had $11 deals for Singles Day. Another Singles Day page promoting "I (heart) $100 Deals" told singles, "This is the day to get something special for a very important person in your life — You!"
Alibaba's Alipay financial services platform appears as though it will have a role to play in connecting American brands to Chinese consumers. On Monday, Borderfree, which operates an international cross-border e-commerce platform, announced it was collaborating with Alipay to make goods from Aéropostale, Ann Taylor, Bloomingdale's, Macy's and Saks Fifth Avenue available to online shoppers in China.
- Alibaba Singles' Day sales hit $9.34B - CNBC
- Alibaba's Singles' Day sales exceed predictions at $9.3bn - BBC News
- Chinese Shoppers Set Record For 'Singles Day' Shopping Spree - NPR
- Dealmoon 11.11
- I Heart $100 Deals - Overstock.com
- The world's biggest online sales event goes global - Internet Retailer
- Borderfree Brings Top Retailers to Chinese Shoppers with New Alipay ePass Service - Borderfree