A holiday celebrating singles is the biggest shopping day of the year
It’s a day dedicated to deals and discounts, it takes place every November, people go crazy for it—and it’s not Black Friday.
In fact, year after year this day has successfully put Black Friday and its “unbeatable” sales to shame. Still stumped? Well, chances are you have not heard about this holiday until now: Nov. 11 is known as Singles’ Day, and according to Forbes, it has brought in more revenue than Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined.
This celebration of singlehood began in the 1990s, when Chinese students started celebrating anti-Valentine’s Day. In 2009, Chinese online shopping website Alibaba saw this tradition as an opportunity to celebrate all the single ladies (and gentlemen, too) while making a major profit. Ever since, singles have been filling the void in their hearts in the way only online shopping can: with heavily discounted jewels, tools, and everything in between.
In 2015, Singles’ Day racked up $14.3 billion in sales for Alibaba, according to CNBC. This spending far surpassed the U.S.’ spending on Black Friday that year, which came in at a mere $2.74 billion.
One explanation for the holiday’s growing popularity is the high male-to-female ratio in China. According to a 2011 study conducted in China, there were 20 million more men under the age of 30 than women. This imbalance means that that the number of single people is growing considerably, and it is only expected to increase in the coming years.
But there’s no need to feel left out, because Singles’ Day has recently made its way to America. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, single residents 18 or older account for 45 percent of the U.S. population. This means nearly half of America can participate in overindulging themselves weeks prior to gathering around friends and family, proclaiming how thankful they are.
“Bare branches day,” as the Chinese call it, is celebrated every Nov. 11, so for those who aren’t quite ready to “branch” out yet, make sure to mark your calendars for next year—because if you don’t treat yourself, who will?
