Alibaba Makes Singles Day into a Global Phenomenon

From Alibaba Group, a screen shot of its video about Singles Day shopping

Singles Day is, like Black Friday, a retailer-promoted shopping day of discounts in which consumers in China (mainly single people but in reality, anyone looking for a bargain) are encouraged to buy for themselves.

Also known as 11-11 or Double 11 in China, Singles Day has become a shopping phenomenon because of the incredible marketing muscle of Alibaba Group, China's powerhouse e-commerce retailing group.

Alibaba began promoting Singles Day in 2009, when millions of Chinese consumers were becoming accustomed to shopping online. The first year, 27 merchants participated.

Today, nearly 700 million consumers in China shop online--a gigantic audience that warrants the serious attention of retailers in China and beyond.

In 2015, Alibaba targeted shoppers worldwide with 11-11 super-bargains, and it saw purchases surge 60% beyond last year's total. During the 24 hours of Singles Day, the company's retail sites processed purchases worth an estimated £9.4 billion, with well more than half of the purchases being made via mobile devices.

Black Friday originated in the US but is increasingly spreading to other countries. UK shoppers are already changing their buying patterns, analysts say, in anticipation of big discounts being offered on 27 November, the day after the US Thanksgiving Day.