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Let’s dive into today’s topic:
How Singles Day in China became the world’s biggest shopping event
The anti-Valentine’s Day.
Why it matters
This topic matters less directly to emerging artists than what we usually discuss here. Still, I think it’s worth your time. The world order is shifting. Europe is slowly loosening its dependence on US business and culture. Meanwhile, China invests heavily in soft power, both through cultural exports and through the Belt and Road Initiative in emerging markets.
Singles Day is part of that export, since Alibaba’s Taobao ran Singles Day sales in more than 20 countries last year. And don’t forget that Mandarin has more native speakers than any other language. Chances are high that it’s celebrated closer to your home than you think.
Hence, for everyone working in growing brands, it’s valuable to study the moment when Chinese marketing goes all-in.
How it works
Singles Day (光棍节 Guānggùnjié) is more than just a Chinese Black Friday. It has cultural roots, and it’s much bigger. Singles day is Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Prime Day combined, several times over.
Its date, 11/11, resembles four single ones, hence the day’s popular name: Double 11 (双十一 Shuāng Shíyī).
Singles Day started as a student tradition at Nanjing University in the 1990s. It’s therefore rooted in Chinese youth culture: a lighthearted counterpart to Valentine’s Day that celebrates singlehood and gives single people an excuse to treat themselves.
The cultural roots still surface today, but since Alibaba adopted the date for a one-day online sale in 2009, Double 11 has grown into a weeks-long shopping extravaganza.
In 2025, it ran for five weeks and generated an estimated RMB 1.7 trillion (around €227 billion). For comparison, US shoppers “only” generated $11.8 billion (around €10.5 billion) on last year’s Black Friday.
So how do you study the world’s biggest sale? Chinese consumers live in different apps (Douyin, Xiaohongshu, WeChat, Weibo) and respond to different tactics. For example, livestream selling on Douyin (the OG TikTok), where a host demos, discounts, and sells items live for hours.
Yes, but..
A major part of understanding Singles Day is recognising that it’s very hard, almost impossible, to get in the door. Chinese platforms are gated behind Chinese phone numbers. Fans stream on QQ, not Spotify. And Chinese audiences have a thriving pop culture of their own, and they’re not waiting for yours.
Take action now
What remains is the holiday’s cultural roots: A day celebrating singlehood is easy to apply to your local market. It could be an angle for creating content on 11/11.
Your thoughts
Have you ever bought anything on Singles Day, or seen it advertised in Europe? I’m curious how far it’s travelled. Please share your experiences in the comments below.
Further reading
What is China’s Singles’ Day and how is it celebrated? (Chinese Language Institute)
Data Drop: 3 Charts on Singles’ Day 2025 in China (eMarketer)
How to track Asian pop culture (The Fanbase Builder)
What if synthesisers only worked in the USA? (The Fanbase Builder)
The Guanxi approach to networking in music (The Fanbase Builder)