What is Singles Day?
Singles Day is a consumer holiday in China and the world's biggest online shopping day of the year. Last year, Chinese consumers spent almost £6bn online through Alibaba stores alone in just 24 hours. Singles Day takes place every year on November 11.
What does that have to do with single people?
Astute readers will have noticed that the November 11 is written 11.11, or one-one-one-one.
Known in China as "bare sticks holiday", because of how it looks numerically, Singles Day began as an anti-Valentine's Day in the 1990swhen students started celebrating their singledom.
The day is also known as Bachelors' Day because of China's gender imbalance. The country's one-child policy, which it recently said it will bring to an end next year, along with the cultural and economic pressures for that child to be a son, has led to a male surplus.In 2011, official Chinese data showed that there were 20m more men than women under the age of 30. By 2020, sociologists expect that discrepancy to have widened to 35m. By 2030, it is estimated that one-in-four Chinese men in their late 30s will never have married.
How did Singles Day become a shopping holiday?
In 2009, Alibaba – the Chinese online shopping platform that is now one of the world's biggest retailers – spotted a commercial opportunity in this celebration of singlehood. It was also a chance to boost sales in the lull between China’s Golden Week national holiday in October and the Christmas season.
In that first year, consumers spent 50m yuan (around £5m) and 27 merchants offered discounts. By 2011 – which was dubbed the Singles Day of the Century because it was 11.11.11 – more than £500m was spent across Alibaba's platform during the day.
When sales almost quadrupled the following year, Alibaba trademarked Singles Day.Some of the featured sales centre around singledom, such as boyfriend pillows and single travel tickets, but the day has now widened to an all-inclusive shopping holiday.
numerically 數字
singledom 單身
gender 性別
economic 經濟
estimated 預計
platform 平台
lull 麻痺
widened 擴大
What ; Singles Day is held every year on 11 November.
When ;11 November 2015
Where :China
Who ;Alibaba
Why : November 11 is written 11.11, or one-one-one-one.
How ;the Chinese online shopping platform that is now one of the world's biggest retailers.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/11974535/What-is-Singles-Day-and-is-it-bigger-than-Black-Friday.html
I think businesspeople are so smart! They use 11/11(double eleven) to create a holiday, and they seize the chance to make a great deal of money. Alibaba, the Chinese online shopping platform, is the top winner! The owner of Alibaba's business strategy is so successful!!!
回覆刪除Many holidays appear in a strange way. And with the passing of time, they usually become a wasting money day. Someone may believe in it or even take action on the day. However, I am the one who just see it as a normal day. I enjoy the atmosphere of holiday, but l will not buy anything useless back.
回覆刪除I thing Alibaba is a smart company. It invented 11/11(double eleven) and let single people buy their product to enhance their sales.This idea not only improve their sales, but drive the business.
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