Knowledge of Singles' Day among consumers worldwide 2023

According to a survey conducted in late 2023, nearly a quarter of consumers around the world are at least somewhat aware of what Singles' Day is. That said, the majority of shoppers outside of Asia have never heard of the event before.

What is Singles’ Day?

Singles' Day, which takes place on November 11th each year, is China’s largest shopping festival. Originally celebrated in jest by individuals without a romantic partner, it evolved into a major shopping event when Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba leveraged the day to offer round-the-clock shopping discounts on its online platform.

Today, Singles’ Day is the largest online shopping event globally, based on sales value and number of shoppers. In 2022, Singles’ Day sales hit nearly 85 billion U.S. dollars – more than twice sales generated during Cyber week, its American e-commerce festival counterpart. In 2021, a staggering total of 1.16 billion packages were transported in China on just 11 November itself, a testament to the domestic popularity of the event, which had in that year morphed into a three-week long shopping event.

China’s e-commerce landscape

China’s e-commerce industry has experienced astounding growth in the past decade, with gross merchandise volume reaching nearly 44 trillion yuan in 2022 – more than five times of what it was in 2012. The manufacturing superpower is now the most penetrated e-commerce market worldwide, with nearly half of its retail sales conducted over the internet in 2023. Behind the strength of the e-commerce industry is formidable market of around 884 million online shoppers living in China.