Singles Day worldwide: a great opportunity for cross-border sales

Did you know that Singles’ Day has become the biggest shopping event in the world? Singles Day worldwide, which originated in China and is celebrated on 11 November, is the biggest shopping day in history. In this post, you’ll learn everything you need to know about the 11.11 Day. Find out some tips on how to make the most of it in your business and increase your popularity and sales.

What is Singles Day 11 11?

Singles Day is celebrated on 11 November. It originated in China in the 1990s, specifically at Nanjing University. Students who did not have a partner decided to celebrate their single status as a way of counteracting the somewhat cheesy atmosphere of Valentine’s Day.

The 11 11 was chosen as a symbol, as it is considered to be the loneliest day of the year as it is made up of the number one.

However, it was not until 2009 that this holiday began to be used commercially in the country. The famous Chinese e-commerce company, Alibaba, wanted to capitalise on it and ended up making it one of the most important days of the year for online shopping.

Since then, Singles’ Day in China has been in direct competition with other events such as Black Friday or Cyber Monday.

 

Singles Day worldwide: a great time to sell internationally

Sales on Singles’ Day in China are three times higher than on its US counterpart, Black Friday. However, despite its popularity being much higher in China, it is gradually becoming an increasingly global holiday.

22,000 brands are already participating in this holiday and some of them have even collaborated with Alibaba to create new products for the Chinese market. Singles’ Day is taking China by storm and has every chance of spreading around the globe in the same way that Black Friday and, later, Cyber Monday did.

 

 

About 20 years ago, singles were not exceedingly popular, but nowadays, they are well regarded by society. In short, singles are a group on the rise in the US and the UK and a major consumer force.

According to the IV Bankinter Report, singles are the population sector that buys the most online, accounting for 24% of purchases in 2018.

If you want to expand your business to the Asian giant, you should definitely keep this holiday in mind. And if you are planning to reach other parts of the world, as a company, you can start to promote this day among your customers.

 

5 ideas to succeed on Singles Day worldwide

If you want to take advantage of Singles’ Day to reach your audience, here are some tips that you can apply to your holiday marketing strategy.

 

Experiences to be enjoyed alone

Create products or services that can be enjoyed individually. They don’t have to be new, you can put a twist on some of the ones you already offer and sell them with different features.

A great idea is to also offer experiences for friends or family, in case there are customers who don’t want to enjoy Singles’ Day alone.

Use the number 11 as a hook

The 11th day of the 11th month is Singles’ Day, which was chosen because it was the only date of the year that had more 1’s, meaning that it represented singleness. You can take advantage of the originality of the choice of this date as a marketing strategy.

On this holiday, as on Black Friday, shops take the opportunity to offer sales and discounts. You can attract consumers by offering an 11% discount, for example, or by giving away 11 points for buying products. The possibilities are endless.

Change your designs and adapt them to 11.11

Brand image is crucial at any time of the year, but even more so when it comes to specific festivities.

When 11.11 Day, it is essential to adapt the design to the celebration to be part of the event and be more attractive to customers.

Bring out exclusive products related to the festivity

This is the perfect occasion to create unique products or services that are only available on International Singles’ Day. The meaning of the holiday requires you to take advantage of what it symbolises as a marketing tool. Bring out new products or services that represent the importance of self-love or self-knowledge.

You can even go for a more light-hearted or comical tone, depending on your brand voice.

Organise an event

You can take advantage of the weeks leading up to Singles’ Day to organise a competition on social networks. Give away an invitation to one of your brand’s events to be held on the 11th. This can be a particularly good hook for all those singles who want to meet new people.

 

The importance of translation in cross border sales on Singles’ Day

Singles Day worldwide is slowly but surely gaining momentum outside of China. Therefore, whether you are planning to expand your business to the Asian country or to other parts of the world, it is crucial to hire experts in ecommerce translation services to ensure that everything runs smoothly.

Festivities like this are a perfect time for companies to increase their sales and make themselves known outside their borders.

But remember. You should be careful with your communication strategy; otherwise it will all have been in vain.