Global Singles’ Day Spending Puts Prime Day to Shame

What started in the 1990s in China as an anti-Valentine’s Day remains the world’s largest shopping day of the year — and though regulatory scrutiny muted some of the Singles’ Day celebration, consumers still came out in droves to buy from eCommerce merchants.

Alibaba launched the first Singles’ Day Shopping Festival in 2009, tying it to China’s informal holiday celebrating people who aren’t in relationships. Since then, the promotion has exploded into the largest global shopping event of the year, with nearly every global eCommerce company getting in on the action, including direct-to-consumer (D2C) companies such as U.S.-based MeUndies. The event has also expanded from a single day — Nov. 11 — to a series of days. This year, many sales began on Oct. 31.

Alibaba said that nearly 400 brands, including Apple and L’Oreal, have seen more than $15 million in sales each during the Singles’ Day event this year, though the company has not released more detailed sales figures as it has in previous years. Rival JD.com said it has raked in nearly $49 billion in sales so far, according to CNBC, and Southeast Asian eCommerce company Zalora is expecting record-breaking business during the event.

Last year, consumers spent over $74 billion on Alibaba’s online shopping platforms over the 11 days of the festival, driven in part by demand from Europe and other markets beyond China. Singles’ Day 2020 was also extended from a one-day event to an 11-day occasion.

Read more: Singles’ Day Orders From Europe Helped Alibaba Smash Sales Records

For comparison, during Amazon’s 48-hour Prime Day event in June, U.S. eCommerce sales totaled more than $11 billion, with shoppers in 20 countries purchasing over 250 million items from the Seattle-based eCommerce company.

Also see: Online Sales Topped $11B During Amazon Prime Day Event

The Digital Yuan

Notably, JD.com has been accepting China’s digital yuan, or e-CNY, on its eCommerce platform during the shopping event for the first time, giving 15 yuan ($2.34) to spend if the consumer downloads China’s digital currency app. JD.com is collaborating with China Construction Bank on this initiative.

The digital yuan has not officially rolled out across the country, but JD’s move to accept it during the world’s largest shopping event is a key milestone as the Chinese central bank looks to test e-CNY on a larger scale. More than 100,000 people used e-CNY on JD’s app during the Singles’ Day event.

Last week, officials in China said the use of the digital yuan has surged to 140 million individual accounts and 10 million business accounts. Pilot programs in more than 10 regions using the digital currency hit 62 billion yuan, or about $9.7 billion, with transaction volume totaling 150 million.

More details: China’s Central Bank: 10M Businesses, 140M People Using Digital Yuan

From December to June, 450,000 customers have used e-CNY on the JD app, spending a collective 100 million yuan (about $15.6 million), according to the latest figures released by the company.

Navigating Obstacles

Alibaba usually holds a massive gala ahead of Nov. 11 that features performances from stars such as Katy Perry and Taylor Swift, but COVID-19 outbreaks in parts of China caused the company to livestream the party instead.

Alibaba has also publicly shifted its focus to sustainability and inclusivity — themes that align with Beijing’s priorities — after being fined $2.8 billion for violating antitrust rules. The Chinese government has been stepping up scrutiny of the tech sector to halt practices that hurt consumers’ rights.

This year’s Singles’ Day comes amid global supply chain bottlenecks, leading to delays for many consumer goods and leaving some merchants struggling to secure inventory. For some, this has meant reducing, or completely forgoing, traditional holiday promotions as they try to balance sales with profits.

Related news: Discounts Harder to Find Amid Supply Chain Bottleneck

PYMNTS recently reported that out-of-stock messages are up 172% from January 2020, and Walmart, Costco and Home Depot have all said the lack of inventory has made it easier to keep prices higher because shoppers are willing to pay more knowing that supply is constrained.