Singles’ Day (or Double 11 Festival) is the biggest 24-hour online shopping festival in the world–a holiday ecommerce CEOs cannot afford to miss. For some brands, one hour during Singles’ Day drives more revenue than all of Black Friday (24 hours) sales.
As a global ecommerce expert, Pattern has seen the impact that Singles’ Day has on brands selling on Tmall and the opportunity for brands who have yet to launch in China. Any brand who is selling products in Asia has the chance to participate in Singles’ Day.
In order to showcase the opportunity for brands around Singles’ Day, let’s learn more:
The History Behind Singles’ Day
Originated in China, Singles’ Day happens annually on the 11th of November. The date was nominated by students in 1993 as a day to celebrate singledom or “anti-Valentine’s Day” in China. 11.11 was selected due to the symbolic nature of the number one, and shoppers were encouraged to celebrate and be proud of their single relationship status by treating themselves to self-purchases.
Alibaba spotted an opportunity to leverage this event by turning Singles’ Day into a national shopping holiday. The first shopping festival was in 2009 in collaboration with a handful of brands, which was an immediate success with Chinese shoppers, surpassing the average daily GMV that year by almost seven-fold. For over a decade, the shopping event has broken sales figure records year over year .
International Brands’ Opportunity during Singles’ Day
Singles’ Day or Double 11 Festival has become an unmatched opportunity for international brands to:
- Engage with loyal customers
- Develop new and dedicated product launches
- Gain data and deep consumer insights
- Expand their international presence
The popularity continues to grow, as was shown in 2021, when Alibaba’s Tmall Singles’ Day Double 11 shopping festival achieved a new record of US $84.54 billion in gross merchandise volume.
Alibaba builds up excitement for the shopping on Singles’ Day through various platforms such as social media, promotions, live streaming, gamification, new site or app features, making it easy and providing new ways for brands to engage with loyal customers.
Live streaming and gamification with the use of influencers or KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders) have become increasingly popular methods of driving brand awareness and boosting demand generation before, during, and after the event, too.
How to Qualify For Singles’ Day
Singles’ Day is a great opportunity for both sellers and consumers on Tmall. While getting registered and participating in the event is fairly simple, you do need to have the right resources, advertising strategy, fulfillment/inventory plans, and logistics set up to deliver for consumers.
It may be daunting to take your brand global, but once your brand is established on Tmall, with the right trade partner, it is a seamless and simple process to participate in the sales event.
Pattern Manages Brands’ Success on Singles’ Day and Beyond
As the world’s foremost brand partner on marketplaces worldwide, Pattern understands the need for international expansion and the real opportunities available to accelerate your brand. We have all the resources necessary to help brands thrive on Singles’ Day by analyzing trends, as well as throughout the year. Our resources include regional experts, international marketplace knowledge, data concerning the logistics of going global, and more.
To learn how we can help your brand prepare for Singles’ Day and succeed on all digital marketplaces in Asia, get in touch with us today.
