Singles' Day is November 11: Here's What Canadian Shoppers Can Expect
By Ambia Staley
October 27, 2017If you're a frequent online shopper, you may have stumbled across something called "Singles' Day" during your browsing. Singles' Day has gained a reputation over the past few yeas as the biggest online shopping day of the year, beating out the likes of both popular online shopping days like Amazon Prime Day and Cyber Monday -- but what is it exactly, and what can Canadian shoppers expect to see when Singles' Day rolls around?
If you're curious about all things Singles' Day, then we've gathered some information to give you a brief rundown of the online shopping festival.
When is Singles' Day?
Singles' Day falls annually on November 11.
What is Singles' Day?
The exact origin of Singles' Day is unknown, although the most popular story claims that the day was created in the 1990s by a group of college students as a sort of anti-Valentine's Day. The date, November 11, was chosen because it consists of four ones (11/11).
In 2009, the e-commerce site Alibaba, capitalized on the idea of Singles' Day and offered discounts on a variety of items as a way for single people to pamper themselves by buying items they want. Today, Singles' Day has evolved into the biggest online shopping day of the year in China, with a variety of retailers offering discounts to customers during the shopping festival.
Just How Big is Singles' Day?
To put it simply, Singles' Day is huge. In 2016, Alibaba made $22.7 billion (US $17.6 billion) of sales in just one day. To put that in perspective, Amazon is estimated to have generated $1.3 billion ($1 billion US) during the 30-hours of Amazon Prime Day 2017 -- that's the same amount Alibaba is reported to have generated with in the first 5 minutes of last year's Singles' Day sale.
What Deals Can We Expect in Canada?
While Singles' Day is fairly new and primarily celebrated in China, it is starting to catch on around the world as well. Last year, there were a few Singles' Day offers available here in Canada, and it will most likely continue to grow in the future.
While it's too early to know exactly what the deals are for Singles' Day 2017, we've gone through the RFD archives and found a few Singles' Day deals that were available for Canadians in 2016:
- AliExpress (owned by Alibaba) - Up to 50% Off Select Items
- Bebe (now closed in Canada) - 20% Off Orders over $200.00
- E.L.F. Cosmetics - 50% Off Orders Over $30.00
- Geekbuying - Up to 50% Off Select Items
- L'Occitane - Get a Free Holiday Ornament with Purchase
- Teavana (now closed in Canada) - 25% Off a Single Item
Singles' Day may be a new concept to Canadian shoppers, but don't count it out yet. Some shoppers may remember that just a few years ago, Black Friday was not considered a popular shopping day in Canada either, however, many are now noticing that it's starting to eclipse Boxing Day in terms of deals and revenue.
Singles' Day is coming up on November 11. Will you be online looking for Singles' Day deals? Do you think yet another shopping holiday will catch on in Canada? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
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