{"id":133937,"date":"2019-11-12T15:13:32","date_gmt":"2019-11-12T15:13:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chrisw92.sg-host.com\/?p=133937"},"modified":"2024-03-28T06:07:08","modified_gmt":"2024-03-28T06:07:08","slug":"singles-day-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/realbusiness.co.uk\/singles-day-2019","title":{"rendered":"Black Friday is SO last year. Say hello to “Singles’ Day”"},"content":{"rendered":"
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So far, November 2019 has been a big month for celebrating single people. Actress, Emma Watson announced she was “self partnered<\/a>“, providing many lonely hearts with a vibrant new response to their grandmother asking them what their relationship status is.<\/p>\n

Also, this Monday, China-born e-commerce sale event “Singles’ Day” gave shoppers the chance to indulge in the ultimate “self-love” by slashing prices across some of their iconic homegrown marketplaces such as Alibaba<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Singles’ Day 2019 beats records<\/h3>\n

Over $30bn’s worth of discounted merchandise<\/a> was sold across twenty-two thousand brands from eightycountries in 24 hours, making the festival bigger than its US competitive Black Friday.<\/p>\n

This discount day has been slowly moulded into a global cultural phenomenon, with American pop star Taylor Swift, having flown over to China this year to kick start the launch of the event.<\/p>\n

Her presence, and the impressive sales performance of the day generally, is a stark reflection of China’s ever-rising influence over online consumer spending habits across the globe.<\/p>\n

So with British retailers already cutting <\/a>costs in”honour of the new wave event, is it time to welcome “Singles’ Day” with open arms?<\/p>\n

Craving a shared experience<\/h2>\n

\"Singles

The run-up to December can be quite isolating for those who find themselves underneath the mistletoe alone.<\/p>\n

Whilst some people are dashing to buy their spouse a thoughtful, romantic and “insta- worthy” gift, others are left picking through a half-eaten box of celebrations.<\/p>\n

Cleverly what Singles’ Day has offered is an unapologetic gap in the market for shoppers to spend on themselves.<\/p>\n

A new experience, not a ‘tired’ flash sale<\/h3>\n

What’s more, Alibaba has marketed the day as more of a celebratory festival as opposed to a tired flash sale.<\/p>\n

The decline of the high street has largely been linked to peoples’ boredom with queues and dried up retail brands. Monday’s sale, on the other hand, was not a sale in the traditional sense, but a “shared experience” says?Sophie Cheng,?General Manager, FutureBrand,<\/a>“China, explaining further, she said:<\/p>\n

“<\/b>Discounting is an important part of the event, but brands are moving away from seeing the festival as a race to the bottom. Instead, the experience is becoming widely seen as one of the keys to the festival’s success, for example throughcelebrity endorsement and the gamification of the Alibaba platform.”<\/p>\n

Fast facts:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n