Singles Day, also known as bachelor's day, is a big concept in China. Translated it is Guanggun Jie and means a single holiday. Originally the day on which the single Chinese, mainly young people, celebrate that they are single and proudly propagate it.
The day is celebrated on November 11, the day that is equal to four times a 1 (11-11) and thus emphasizes four times that it stands for single / bachelor. On this day, online shopping is central, with an ever-increasing turnover. In 2013 it was sold for 5.8 billion dollars. In 2016, this revenue soared to a staggering $17.5 billion.
Origin
The first singles day originated at one of the universities. The young people who graduated from the University of Nanking have continued to celebrate this day and have thus managed to unleash a true revolution. Although first created as a holiday for only the male students, the women soon joined. The purpose of the day was to celebrate your bachelorhood together with friends. Or use this day for a first date or acquaintance. The universities themselves also participated and organized various activities for these young singles.
On 11 November 2011, this holiday was given an extra festive touch. Because of the six ones in the date, it was celebrated even more extensively than other years. And whatever theory you hold for the origin of this day (the origin of ideas to meet a woman in a single male college dormitory, or the story of a young man's great love who died prematurely), today revolves around everything about online shopping.
Commerce
As the major initiator of the current Singles Day, the Alibaba group, they have made the day indispensable for the Chinese economy with two major trade sites. For years, China has been trying to stop the entire economy from running solely on production and export. The resident himself must also spend the money in his own country. By making many thousands of products cheaper, they encourage them to make purchases. And the Alibaba group also has its own online payment system, namely the Alipay with which 50% of all online purchases in the country are paid.
And in the early years a gift was bought for yourself, because you were a proud bachelor and you could spoil yourself. Nowadays, it is about the larger, and in particular, electronic products that are flying over the counter like hot cakes these days. The concepts of Black Friday and Cyber Monday from the United States are completely insignificant compared to the turnover of Singles Day. And this also shows that they are slowly gaining ground worldwide. In terms of size, this has become the most important shopping day in the world, surrounded by a grand spectacle.
In recent years, there has been a major trend in the purchases made on this day. You can't imagine whether it is offered, new cars, new smartphones, but also the hippest sports shoes from well-known brands such as Nike and Sketchers. But the smaller purchases are also very popular, such as phone cases,
And consumers are more than happy to show on social media what they have been able to buy and how much they have purchased. By showing this, others are also encouraged to buy and show this to the outside world. This makes Singles Day an important measure for the Chinese economy. And this economy is again a very large player on the global market.
