11:11. Singles' Day

or how to celebrate shopping.

 

November 11th (11:11 or Double 11) is known in China as Singles' Day. Now there are only a few hours to go and the worthy discounts are already gone. It's not easy to explain you how much importance Chinese people give to this date. I only can tell you that shopping is a national sport and from here I dare to say that maybe in a few years 11:11 will be a national holiday. Et voilà! Many people can expend the day just shopping, instead of slipping away from their desks to go shopping and hiding from their bosses who probably will be also shopping. Yeah, that was the reality the whole day. Many stores in Shanghai in one of the most luxury areas looked like the most messy flea market and by lunch time was almost impossible to find a single t-shirt perfectly folded on a shelf.

On the online world, the most avid ones were saving items in the shopping cart the days before 11:11. Some brands offered a pre-sale in which many products reached the sign "Out of Stock" two weeks before Singles' Day. A bright movement which help you avoid technical problems on the website and get prepared for all the logistics. Alibaba sales reach billions year after year each Double 11.

So the big discounts were online and Alibaba with their platforms such as T-Mall or Taobao has collected most of the traffic of crazy and anxious shoppers. E-commerce in China is a great and very developed business. Everyday you get new apps. I'm still fascinated with WeChat Wallet. If I link this e-wallet to my bank card I can make a huge variety of payments from my cell (clothes from Zara, organic veggies, etc.) and even send money to any friend within WeChat. Amazing, isn't it?