Singles’ Day

{{Infobox Chinese|s=光棍节|t=光棍節|p=Guānggùn Jié|w=Kuang-kun chieh|y=Gwōnggwan Jit|j=Gwong¹gwan³Zit³|hk=Kwong Kwan Tsit|mo=Kuong Kuan Chit|poj=Kong-kùn-chat|wuu=¹Kuaon-kuen-ciq|mblmc=Guáng-go̿ng Căi|buc=Guŏng-góng Cáik|l=Singles’ Holiday|s2=双11|t2=雙11|p2=Shuāng 11|w2=Shuang 11|j2=Soeng¹ 11|y2=Sēung 11|hk2=Sheung 11|poj2=Siang 11|phfs2=Sûng 11|teo2=Sang¹ 11}}

{{Infobox Chinese|s=光棍节|t=光棍節|p=Guānggùn Jié|w=Kuang-kun chieh|y=Gwōnggwan Jit|j=Gwong¹gwan³Zit³|hk=Kwong Kwan Tsit|mo=Kuong Kuan Chit|poj=Kong-kùn-chat|wuu=¹Kuaon-kuen-ciq|mblmc=Guáng-go̿ng Căi|buc=Guŏng-góng Cáik|l=Singles’ Holiday|s2=双11|t2=雙11|p2=Shuāng 11|w2=Shuang 11|j2=Soeng¹ 11|y2=Sēung 11|hk2=Sheung 11|poj2=Siang 11|phfs2=Sûng 11|teo2=Sang¹ 11}}

”’Singles’ Day”’ ({{lang-zh|s=光棍节|t=光棍節}}) or ”’Double 11”’ ({{lang-zh|s=双11|t=雙11}}) is an unofficial Chinese holiday for people who are not in a relationship. The date, 11 November (11/11), was chosen because the numeral 1 resembles a bare stick ({{lang-zh|s=光棍|p= guānggàn}}), [[Chinese Internet slang]] for an unmarried man.<ref>{{cite news |title=Asian demography: The flight from marriage |date=20 August 2011 |newspaper=[[The Economist]] |location=Seoul and Taipei |url=https://www.economist.com/briefing/2011/08/20/the-flight-from-marriage |access-date=18 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180914113419/https://www.economist.com/briefing/2011/08/20/the-flight-from-marriage|archive-date=2018-09-14|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref> The four “1”s also refer to the [[demographics of China|demographic group]] of single people. Ironically, the holiday has become a popular date on which to celebrate relationships: more than 4,000 couples got married in [[Beijing]] on this date in 2011, far greater than the daily average of 700 marriages.

”’Singles’ Day”’ ({{lang-zh|s=光棍节|t=光棍節}}) or ”’Double 11”’ ({{lang-zh|s=双11|t=雙11}}) is an unofficial Chinese holiday for people who are not in a relationship. The date, 11 November (11/11), was chosen because the numeral 1 resembles a bare stick ({{lang-zh|s=光棍|p= }}), [[Chinese Internet slang]] for an unmarried man.<ref>{{cite news |title=Asian demography: The flight from marriage |date=20 August 2011 |newspaper=[[The Economist]] |location=Seoul and Taipei |url=https://www.economist.com/briefing/2011/08/20/the-flight-from-marriage |access-date=18 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180914113419/https://www.economist.com/briefing/2011/08/20/the-flight-from-marriage|archive-date=2018-09-14|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref> The four “1”s also refer to the [[demographics of China|demographic group]] of single people. Ironically, the holiday has become a popular date on which to celebrate relationships: more than 4,000 couples got married in [[Beijing]] on this date in 2011, far greater than the daily average of 700 marriages.

Originally, the date was celebrated by a small group of college bachelors, but in 2009 [[Alibaba Group|Alibaba’s]] CEO [[Daniel Zhang]] began to use the day as a 24-hour holiday that offered online shopping discounts and offline entertainment.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-11-12|title=Singles’ Day posts a record haul even at the slowest pace in a decade|url=https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3155762/sales-growth-alibabas-singles-day-drops-amid-chinas-crackdown-big|access-date=2021-11-17|website=South China Morning Post|language=en|archive-date=11 November 2021|archive-url=https://archive.today/20211111223922/https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3155762/sales-growth-alibabas-singles-day-drops-amid-chinas-crackdown-big?module=perpetual_scroll&pgtype=article&campaign=3155762|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Huy|first=Quy|date=2019-12-11|title=For Alibaba, Singles Day Is About More Than Huge Sales|work=Harvard Business Review|url=https://hbr.org/2019/12/for-alibaba-singles-day-is-about-more-than-huge-sales|access-date=2021-11-17|issn=0017-8012|archive-date=1 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601001709/https://hbr.org/2019/12/for-alibaba-singles-day-is-about-more-than-huge-sales|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=How Alibaba made Singles’ Day the world’s largest shopping festival|url=https://fortune.com/2018/11/09/alibaba-singles-day-china/|access-date=2021-11-17|website=Fortune|language=en|archive-date=2 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202193925/https://fortune.com/2018/11/09/alibaba-singles-day-china/|url-status=live}}</ref> The holiday has now become the largest [[brick and mortar|physical retail]] and [[online shopping|online]] shopping day in the world, and spread to [[Southeast Asia]]. Rivals of Alibaba, such as [[JD.com]], host Singles’ Day festivals as well, which garnered US$19.1 billion, bringing the Chinese total to US$44.5 billion total sales volume in 2017.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://singlesdaybest.com/index.php/2018/07/26/singles-day-2017-breaks-record-with-44-billion-in-sales/|title=Singles Day 2017 Breaks Record with $44.5 Billion in Sales|date=26 July 2018|work=SinglesDayBest.com|access-date=15 September 2018|language=en-US|archive-date=15 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180915231225/https://singlesdaybest.com/index.php/2018/07/26/singles-day-2017-breaks-record-with-44-billion-in-sales/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Alibaba shoppers exceeded 213.5 billion [[yuan (currency)|yuan]] ([[USD|US$]]30.7 billion) in total spend during 2018 Singles Day.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/12/chinese-shoppers-spend-a-record-25bn-in-singles-day-splurge|title=Chinese shoppers spend a record $25bn in Singles Day splurge|last=Haas|first=Benjamin|date=12 November 2017|work=The Guardian|access-date=10 January 2018|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=16 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190716053731/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/12/chinese-shoppers-spend-a-record-25bn-in-singles-day-splurge|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=”C. Custer”>{{cite web|url=https://www.techinasia.com/tmall-ceo-year-alibaba-plans-singles-day-global/|title=Tmall CEO: this year, Alibaba plans to take Singles Day global|author=C. Custer|date=14 October 2014|work=Tech in Asia|accessdate=21 October 2014|archive-date=30 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190630164334/https://www.techinasia.com/tmall-ceo-year-alibaba-plans-singles-day-global|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2019, Alibaba said that its [[gross merchandise volume]] for the whole event came in at 268.4 billion yuan (US$38.4 billion), an increase of 26% from the previous year.<ref name=”Reuters Alibabas Singles Day 2019″>{{cite web | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-singles-day-alibaba-sales/alibabas-singles-day-sales-hit-record-38-billion-growth-slows-idUSKBN1XK0HD | title=Alibaba’s Singles’ Day sales hit record $38 billion; growth slows | work=Reuters | date=10 November 2019 | access-date=5 March 2020 | archive-date=30 November 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221130043839/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-singles-day-alibaba-sales/alibabas-singles-day-sales-hit-record-38-billion-growth-slows-idUSKBN1XK0HD | url-status=live}}</ref> In 2021, Alibaba and JD reached a new combined Singles Day sales record of US$139 billion.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kharpal|first=Arjun|date=2021-11-12|title=Alibaba, JD smash Singles Day record with $139 billion of sales and focus on ‘social responsibility’|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/12/china-singles-day-2021-alibaba-jd-hit-record-139-billion-of-sales.html|access-date=2021-11-16|website=CNBC|language=en|archive-date=12 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230712182507/https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/12/china-singles-day-2021-alibaba-jd-hit-record-139-billion-of-sales.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Originally, the date was celebrated by a small group of college bachelors, but in 2009 [[Alibaba Group|Alibaba’s]] CEO [[Daniel Zhang]] began to use the day as a 24-hour holiday that offered online shopping discounts and offline entertainment.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-11-12|title=Singles’ Day posts a record haul even at the slowest pace in a decade|url=https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3155762/sales-growth-alibabas-singles-day-drops-amid-chinas-crackdown-big|access-date=2021-11-17|website=South China Morning Post|language=en|archive-date=11 November 2021|archive-url=https://archive.today/20211111223922/https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3155762/sales-growth-alibabas-singles-day-drops-amid-chinas-crackdown-big?module=perpetual_scroll&pgtype=article&campaign=3155762|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Huy|first=Quy|date=2019-12-11|title=For Alibaba, Singles Day Is About More Than Huge Sales|work=Harvard Business Review|url=https://hbr.org/2019/12/for-alibaba-singles-day-is-about-more-than-huge-sales|access-date=2021-11-17|issn=0017-8012|archive-date=1 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601001709/https://hbr.org/2019/12/for-alibaba-singles-day-is-about-more-than-huge-sales|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=How Alibaba made Singles’ Day the world’s largest shopping festival|url=https://fortune.com/2018/11/09/alibaba-singles-day-china/|access-date=2021-11-17|website=Fortune|language=en|archive-date=2 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202193925/https://fortune.com/2018/11/09/alibaba-singles-day-china/|url-status=live}}</ref> The holiday has now become the largest [[brick and mortar|physical retail]] and [[online shopping|online]] shopping day in the world, and spread to [[Southeast Asia]]. Rivals of Alibaba, such as [[JD.com]], host Singles’ Day festivals as well, which garnered US$19.1 billion, bringing the Chinese total to US$44.5 billion total sales volume in 2017.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://singlesdaybest.com/index.php/2018/07/26/singles-day-2017-breaks-record-with-44-billion-in-sales/|title=Singles Day 2017 Breaks Record with $44.5 Billion in Sales|date=26 July 2018|work=SinglesDayBest.com|access-date=15 September 2018|language=en-US|archive-date=15 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180915231225/https://singlesdaybest.com/index.php/2018/07/26/singles-day-2017-breaks-record-with-44-billion-in-sales/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Alibaba shoppers exceeded 213.5 billion [[yuan (currency)|yuan]] ([[USD|US$]]30.7 billion) in total spend during 2018 Singles Day.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/12/chinese-shoppers-spend-a-record-25bn-in-singles-day-splurge|title=Chinese shoppers spend a record $25bn in Singles Day splurge|last=Haas|first=Benjamin|date=12 November 2017|work=The Guardian|access-date=10 January 2018|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=16 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190716053731/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/12/chinese-shoppers-spend-a-record-25bn-in-singles-day-splurge|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=”C. Custer”>{{cite web|url=https://www.techinasia.com/tmall-ceo-year-alibaba-plans-singles-day-global/|title=Tmall CEO: this year, Alibaba plans to take Singles Day global|author=C. Custer|date=14 October 2014|work=Tech in Asia|accessdate=21 October 2014|archive-date=30 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190630164334/https://www.techinasia.com/tmall-ceo-year-alibaba-plans-singles-day-global|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2019, Alibaba said that its [[gross merchandise volume]] for the whole event came in at 268.4 billion yuan (US$38.4 billion), an increase of 26% from the previous year.<ref name=”Reuters Alibabas Singles Day 2019″>{{cite web | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-singles-day-alibaba-sales/alibabas-singles-day-sales-hit-record-38-billion-growth-slows-idUSKBN1XK0HD | title=Alibaba’s Singles’ Day sales hit record $38 billion; growth slows | work=Reuters | date=10 November 2019 | access-date=5 March 2020 | archive-date=30 November 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221130043839/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-singles-day-alibaba-sales/alibabas-singles-day-sales-hit-record-38-billion-growth-slows-idUSKBN1XK0HD | url-status=live}}</ref> In 2021, Alibaba and JD reached a new combined Singles Day sales record of US$139 billion.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kharpal|first=Arjun|date=2021-11-12|title=Alibaba, JD smash Singles Day record with $139 billion of sales and focus on ‘social responsibility’|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/12/china-singles-day-2021-alibaba-jd-hit-record-139-billion-of-sales.html|access-date=2021-11-16|website=CNBC|language=en|archive-date=12 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230712182507/https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/12/china-singles-day-2021-alibaba-jd-hit-record-139-billion-of-sales.html|url-status=live}}</ref>