Every year on 11 November, thousands of people around the world celebrate Singles Day.
What started as an anti-Valentine’s Day celebration invented by young Chinese singletons has gone on to become the largest shopping day in the world.
In 2017, Chinese e-commerce giants Alibaba generated a record $25bn (£19bn) in sales on the day itself, far exceeding similar annual shopping events, such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Here The Independent examines the phenomenon.
What is it?
An unofficial holiday that is primarily celebrated in China, it was created in 1993 as an antidote to Valentine’s Day, giving young Chinese singletons the chance to celebrate at events across the country and meet one another.
Major retailers quickly caught on to the fact that they could target young consumers by offering discounts across their stores and online.
It always takes place 11 November, a date which was chosen because of the sequence of 1s, which represent single people.
How did it start?
Thought to have originated at Nanjing University in 1993, Singles Day was initially only celebrated by male students.
But the day soon became popular among young and single Chinese people, who saw it as an opportunity to meet other singletons and began organising events and meet-ups to mark the event.
It became the global shopping event it is today in 2009, when e-commerce giant Alibaba, who make the majority of its sales via apps, began offering special discounts on the day.
How much money does it generate?
Last year, Alibaba generated more than $38bn in sales, which is significantly more than in previous years.
This means the event is now almost four times larger than America’s biggest shopping days, Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
