Chinese Singles’ Day, the world’s largest shopping event, is getting austere

Perry, Craig and Williams performed at the Singles’ Day Party hosted by the famous tech company Alibaba. With nearly $75 billion in sales in 2020, it is the largest retail event in the world.

The festival promises to sell big again this year. However, this Singles’ Day will be different than usual.

common prosperity

Companies like Alibaba are under pressure from the Chinese government. A new wind is blowing in the country called “common prosperity”. It is a term introduced by leader Xi Jinping this summer.

Xi believes that the Chinese should take less interest in material things like Nike shoes and more importance to push the whole country forward. He also wants wealth to be distributed more equitably. And if the leader announces something like this, you as a company respond to it.

Alibaba said last week that the festival is not just about sales numbers. The company promises to become more sustainable, of course under the rubric of “shared prosperity”. In the coming years, the company pledges to invest more than $15 billion in projects that reduce inequality in China.

What is Singles Day?

Unlike an event like Black Friday in the US, where customers lie in front of stores in the wee hours to be the first to get deals, you live out Singles’ Day almost exclusively on your smartphone.

It works like this. In the lead up to Singles’ Day, you can see what the deals of the year will be on Chinese web stores like Alibaba and JD.com. Big brands like Nike and Xiaomi often offer big discounts on new products. You can order these products at a discount on Singles’ Day. Singles’ Day is also growing in popularity in the Netherlands, especially among younger shoppers.

Winton Frazier

 "Amateur web lover. Incurable travel nerd. Beer evangelist. Thinker. Internet expert. Explorer. Gamer."

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