This year, shoppers worldwide spent more on “Singles Day” than on any other day…including Amazon Prime Day, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday—combined.
Here’s a breakdown of how this sales holiday, organized by megaretailer Alibaba, compared with U.S. sales holidays:

  • By the end of the holiday, Alibaba brought in $28.1 billion of gross merchandise value on Singles Day.
  • Black Friday sales amounted to $5.03 billion.
  • Amazon Prime day brought in $1-2.2 billion in sales.
  • On Cyber Monday, consumers spent $6.59 billion, the largest U.S. online sales holiday ever…but still less than 25% of gross merchandise value on Singles Day.

This year’s sales on Singles Day marked an 82% increase from 2016.
In just 13 hours, Alibaba pulled in $25.3 billion through the Alipay platform.
And in a further proof of increasing cell phone use, more than $25 billion of gross merchandise value was transacted on mobile devices on Singles Day.
What were consumers buying on Singles Day? Health-conscious Chinese consumers purchased products in the wellness and baby product categories, including multivitamins, milk powder, and diapers.
Sales holidays in the U.S. this year marked a historic high, but brought in only a small fraction of money made on Singles Day…further proof of a shifting economy, increasing online sales, and shopping on mobile devices.
If you would like to discuss your marketing strategy for selling products or services online, give me a call at (310) 212-5727, or email Caleb at [email protected].
Here are the rest of this week’s articles: