11.11 EUPHORIA

Hey guys! As I promised in the previous article that I will write an article about this super exciting event in Chinese people’s life (lol, sorry for being exaggerated): 11.11 or 双11 (double 11) or Single Day Event. Check this out!

The Idea of Origin

Basically, it’s the same as Black Friday in the western world.

Singles’ Day or Bachelors’ Day was initially celebrated at various universities in Nanjing during the 1990s, and originated from Nanjing University in 1993. It got the name “Singles’ Day” because the date consists of four “one”s. These college students have since graduated, and carried the university tradition into society. Singles’ Day has been largely popularized in the internet era and is now observed by youth in several regions outside China as well.

Singles’ Day serves as an occasion for single people to party with single friends. The holiday was initially only celebrated by young men, hence the name, “Bachelors’ Day,” but is now widely celebrated by both genders. ‘Blind date’ parties are also popular during this day in an attempt to bid goodbye to their single lives. Some schools of a university put forward a special program to gather singles together for celebration. Singles may take on a bemoaning or self-deprecating attitude for remaining single as a university student, but this has helped curb that negativity.

2011 marked the “Singles Day of the Century” (Shiji Guanggun Jie), this date having six “ones” rather than four—an excuse to take celebrations to a higher level.Shopping promotions were highlighted throughout China and activities were widespread. Although this date is meant to celebrate singlehood, the desire to find a spouse or mate is often expressed by young Chinese on this date, and other love-related issues are discussed by the Chinese media.

This Single Day is also celebrated in South Korea, known as Pepero Day.

The Craze of 11.11

Ma Yun or widely known as Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba uses this event to pump up Chinese local consumption by giving away a big discount, I mean HUGE discount on its Alibaba platform (Taobao and Tmall in China). Then, other online shopping platforms adopt the strategy.

As we know that China has been trying to increase the local consumption. Like I said in the previous article that Chinese people is widely known as the saving people. They save their money to be inherited for their descendants. But, little by little they’ve been changing lately, as China also has to catch up and balance their economy.

Foreigners who live in China also can join this craze.

Let me share a bit of my and my friends’ experience last night (well I think it’s not only ours, but most Chinese and foreigners’ experience in China)… It’s been a tradition for us to standby the computer every November 10th at 11.55 pm, during our 4 years living in China. Why? Because we have to beat other people to get the things that we want! LOL! You know right, China is the biggest populated country in the world, and don’t forget to add the foreigners too. Imagine when other people also hunt the things that you want and the quantity is limited, haaaa! Last night my friends and I, we gathered and prepared our finger to click the payment button… We had searched the things that we want beforehand, so that when 00.00 dang! We’ll just pay… Some of my friends, alas they got the things that they want, but some of them couldn’t get the things that they want. Why? Coz the things that queued to be paid were also A LOT! RMB 2,500 flied to Alibaba in a split of seconds! The discount is crazy, guys! Well, not all of the products have crazy discount, but still, majority has… Imagine, on this Single Day you can buy Tory Burch shoes for only RMB 990-ish (original price in China RMB 2,500-ish)!

Facts About 11.11

– 120,000 estimated orders per minute

– Around 20 million parcels are expected to be shipped

– More than US$ 1 billion was bought within the first 8 minutes

– US$ 2 billion in sales for the first 17’29”

– 232 countries and regions participated at the 11.11 transactions

– Formula Milk Powder is the most purchased items in the first 15 minutes

– UNIQLO is the most popular clothing brand during the shopping festival

– XiaoMi generated the most sales among other stores on Alibaba’s Tmall

– 45 million is the average number of shoppers who looked for items on Tmall at the same time

– US$23.5 billion is the Singles’ Day final sales

Yeah, it’s a big harvest for Alibaba and other suppliers. But overall, it’s fun! For sure, once I go out from China, Taobao and Tmall will be missed, and this also happens to other foreigners who once lived in China