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Singles’ Day sales: A guide for Australian e-commerce businesses

Singles’ Day, held on 11 November every year, is the biggest shopping event in the world. Here’s everything you need to know to get your e-commerce site ready for it.

 

Key takeaways:

  • Singles’ Day generates more revenue than Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined, making it the biggest global shopping event
  • Embracing Singles’ Day’s self-care theme with creative, interactive marketing can help capture the attention of single consumers
  • Participating in Singles’ Day offers a gateway for Australian businesses to expand into the Chinese market

Introduction

While Singles’ Day is celebrated in only a few countries and is still relatively unknown outside China, it generates more revenue than Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined.

In fact, based on the sales value and total number of shoppers, Singles’ Day is the biggest online shopping event across the globe. In 2022, Singles’ Day sales reached $85 billion, twice the sales generated during Cyber Week in the US. Over 1.16 billion packages were shipped in China on November 11, 2021, showcasing the popularity of the annual sales event.

Singles’ Day has also gained popularity among customers in Australia and New Zealand in the last few years.

Let’s look at what Singles’ Day is, when it takes place, how it differs from BFCM and why online sellers should consider participating in this lucrative shopping event.

Table of Contents

What is Singles’ Day?

Singles’ Day is an online shopping festival that originated in China and lands on November 11 each year. Dubbed ‘Anti Valentine’s Day,’ and often known as Double 11 or 11:11 because of the date, the event was created to celebrate single people. It encourages singles to treat themselves as they are – a counter message to the many other holidays year-round dedicated to couples and families.

While discounts drive Singles’ Day success, the day’s real appeal lies in its deeper meaning. Singles’ Day celebrates self-love, personal growth and embracing individuality—whether you’re single or in a relationship.

Customers on Singles’ Day may look for discounts to buy gifts for themselves, their friends or significant others.

History of Singles’ Day sales or 11/11 shopping festival

The idea behind Singles’ Day originated in 1993 at China’s Nanjing University. It was initially referred to as ‘Bachelor’s Day’ and the day celebrated being single. Alibaba Group founder Jack Ma took the holiday to retail and launched a huge shopping event with massive discounts and offers.

Alibaba started their Double 11 or 11.11 sales in 2009 to win over single online shoppers with big discounts. Soon, competitors like JD.com and Pinduoduo also introduced Singles’ Day sales in 2012.

Why Australian e-commerce businesses should consider participating in Singles’ Day Sales?

Here are some of the many benefits of participating in Singles’ Day sales:

Boost in sales and revenue

Singles’ Day campaigns can help you boost sales and get ahead of competitors who are only planning to introduce sales from the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend.

Reach new customers

Singles’ Day attracts millions of customers across the globe who are readily looking for deals. Launching Singles’ Day sales campaigns allows you to reach new customers and expand your market reach. 

Improve brand awareness

Singles’ Day can be a great way to raise brand awareness through unique promotions. You can use the opportunity to offer special discounts to customers by building marketing campaigns focused on self-care and indulgence.

Collect data and use it for the BFCM weekend

Singles’ Day is still gaining popularity in Australia and New Zealand but is not as popular as Black Friday. So, if you are running Singles’ Day sales in ANZ, you can use this opportunity to gather data and fine-tune your BFCM sales campaigns. Gain insights into which products are popular, which campaigns drive the most social media engagement and how easy it is for customers to place orders on your website.

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  • Lock in currency conversion rates for up to 24 months

Why use Singles’ Day Sales to expand internationally?

If you have been planning to expand your business in China, Singles’ Day is the perfect way to kickstart your operations. Australian brands are popular among many on Taobao and Tmall, two of China’s major marketplaces. In fact, Australia regularly finds a spot in the top 10 countries featured on the Chinese cross-border e-commerce platform Tmall Global.

Australian products like vitamins and other wellness products are hot sellers among Chinese consumers.

How is Singles’ Day different from Black Friday and Cyber Monday?

While the most obvious difference between Singles’ Day and BFCM is the date, there are many others to keep in mind.

Singles’ Day strategy and experience

Singles’ Day marketing veers away from the traditional campaigns often seen in BFCM events, using instead a mobile-led approach and gamified experiences for Chinese consumers. It also often involves ‘shoppingtainment’ with national television in China putting on big celebrity-filled shows with stars making appearances and performing throughout the day, making it a real shopping festival.

Where Singles’ Day is celebrated

Singles’ Day was originally only available in China as an Alibaba flagship shopping event. However, big marketing efforts over the last few years have seen it extend to more of Southeast Asia and slowly, countries in Europe and the US are starting to mark it as a major shopping event in their calendar too.

Singles’ Day platforms and brands

Singles’ Day is mostly celebrated on Alibaba and its affiliate sites, Taobao and Tmall – which means that it’s mainly China-based brands and businesses that mark the day with big discounts. Taobao, the consumer-to-consumer platform, is a big driver in sales and has over 200,000 brands with deals and offers.

So far, many big Western brands haven’t been involved but a few, such as Bulgari, Dyson and Moncler, did take part last year. So, we expect to see more international brands celebrate Singles’ Day this year and beyond.

How to prepare your e-commerce business for Singles’ Day sales?

There’s a huge opportunity for online retailers to boost sales growth with Singles’ Day as it sees far bigger revenue than Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined. But, while it’s in the same month as BFCM, your approach and strategy for China’s biggest shopping day must be entirely differentiated to keep it in line with the Singles‘ Day spirit.

1.   Target your single audience

Remember, this is an event in celebration of singledom, meaning that images of couples and families aren’t suitable here. Instead, all photos, language and general sentiment should reflect happy, single people and their lives as they are now.

2.   Offer products for single people

Singles’ Day is about the single person, so put the best products on offer that acknowledge and recognise their status and life. Items for large families, like a big camping tent, aren’t often used by a single person and therefore aren’t relevant for this event.

It’s also important to consider and put forward the products that encourage self-love and care. While functional items are appreciated, make sure to include some treats like fashion, beauty products and special events to leave single customers feeling pampered and nurtured.

For instance, in 2022, Alibaba stated that sales of high-tech beauty devices, such as gadgets to cool and lift facial skin, had surged 5,570% from the previous year.

3.   Get creative and interactive

While you may not have the budget for avatars and virtual influencers, getting creative in your marketing strategy is key to success for this event. Chinese customers expect an element of gamification and interaction as they find and explore your store and products, so try to include this where you can without breaking the bank.

Adding media like short product reels created on TikTok or Instagram is a great and easy way to include more interactive videos on your website and store. You could also add virtual games widgets, competitions and challenges that encourage customer interaction with your brand.

4.   Ensure your store is mobile-first and optimised

Being an e-commerce event, Singles’ Day has always been about buying online. As more shoppers are using mobile devices during Singles’ Day, it’s key that your website and marketplace are optimised for mobile use. In 2021, around 828 million consumers were shopping on their mobile devices on Singles’ Day – that’s more than the population of Europe!

This means a smooth and seamless user experience from the moment a customer virtually enters your store right through to the checkout process. With a lot of competition and sales to be made, you want to make the customer experience and their decision as easy and straightforward as possible.

Also, as Singles’ Day is China’s largest shopping festival with over 500 million users on a single platform, it’s crucial that your store and payment functionality is set up to manage large transaction volumes for the day.

5.   Acknowledge the Asian market and culture

Singles’ Day, while growing internationally, still mainly caters to the Asian market and it’s here that many businesses can find their global audience. However, finding an Asian audience is one thing – but keeping it is another.

Show that your business is respectful of and embraces the culture through small adaptations, such as social media livestreams of your launch on Singles’ Day and using lucky numbers or multiples of 11 in your discount codes and Singles’ Day marketing.

Get Singles’ Day sales started with WorldFirst

While you may not have heard of Singles’ Day or considered it for your business, this huge shopping festival is an excellent opportunity for merchants with international mindsets and global goals.

As e-commerce experts, we help small and medium-sized businesses that import, export or collect from marketplaces. With the World Account, you can open 15+ local accounts and receive international payments from your manufacturers like a local with all the benefits – fast payments, no currency exchange and no hidden costs.

Hold or convert your money, or pay your invoices when you’re ready in 40+ currencies, securely and fast. If you’re importing from China, pay your Chinese suppliers with same or next-day payments in their preferred currency, USD, CNH or HKD.

You can also lock in an exchange rate for future invoices by fixing up to 24 months to help plan for future Singles’ Day events with your suppliers. And that’s not all – you’ll also benefit from our exclusive integration with one of China’s largest wholesale marketplaces 1688.com, allowing you to quickly access and pay a wide range of suppliers in their local currency, with low minimum quantities.

Explore how to get the best from your World Account to support your Singles’ Day promotions.

Disclaimer: The information contained is general only and largely our views.  Before acting on the information you should consider whether it is appropriate for you, in light of your objectives, financial situation or needs. Although information has been obtained from and is based upon multiple sources the author believes to be reliable, we do not guarantee its accuracy and it may be incomplete or condensed. All opinions, estimates, mentioned products/services and referenced material constitute the author’s own judgement as of the date of the briefing and are subject to change without notice. WorldFirst shall not be responsible for any losses or damages arising from your reliance of such information.

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