Singles' Day gains traction down under as brands offer 25 to 40 per cent discounts, but results were softer in its huge domestic Chinese market this year

News Plus 18 Nov 2024 - 5 min read

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Tags: Singles Day

Singles' Day, originally Alibaba's strategy of transferring Amazon's Black Friday sales to China, and now likely the biggest shopping down in the world, has gained significant traction in Australia, becoming a key player in the retail landscape as consumers gear up for the holiday shopping season. In 2024, retailers across the country capitalised on this growing trend, offering substantial promotions and discounts, thereby marking the event as a critical milestone in the festive shopping calendar. Despite its rising popularity, Singles' Day still lags behind Black Friday in consumer awareness, but retailers are steadily making their mark with enticing deals and early promotions.

What you need to know

Singles' Day is celebrated annually on November 11 but it is actually a month-long shopping event, and has become a significant retail event in Australia.
In 2024, major retailers like Net-A-Porter, The Iconic, and Adore Beauty offered discounts ranging from 25% to 40%.
Awareness of Singles' Day among Australians was 20% in 2023, compared to 84% for Black Friday sales.
In Germany, 41% of consumers are familiar with Singles' Day.
Retailers launched promotions earlier this year, with Adidas offering 40% off outlet items and Love Honey providing 70% off selected adult products.
Despite its expansion in Australia, Singles' Day in China saw softer sales this year, with higher demand for sportswear and fitness items as consumers traded down from luxury brands
Sales data from Syntun indicated a 26.6% increase in sales, attributed to a longer event period, totaling 1441.8 billion RMB (approximately $191 billion USD) for major e-commerce platforms, but overall commentators said the event was more subdued than in recent years.

Singles' Day, celebrated annually on November 11, has evolved from its origins in China to become a significant retail event in Australia. In 2024, Australian retailers embraced the occasion with a variety of promotions and discounts, marking the beginning of the holiday shopping season.

Major retailers such as Net-A-Porter, The Iconic, and Adore Beauty offered substantial discounts, with deals ranging from 25 per cent to 40 per cent off selected products. David Jones provided up to 50 per cent off selected designer fashion and an additional 11 per cent off selected beauty products for purchases over $250.

The event's popularity in Australia reflects a growing awareness among consumers. According to Boston Consulting Group 20 per cent of Australians were aware of Singles' Day in 2023, indicating a steady increase in recognition. But that is still a long way short of the 84 per cent of Australians familiar with Black Friday Sales. Singles Day fares better in Europe whereas in Germany, for instance, it is recognised by 41 per cent of consumers

Retailers capitalised on this trend by launching promotions earlier and offering more significant discounts. For instance, Adidas provided 40 per cent off outlet items, and La Mer offered exclusive gifts with purchases over $600, according to Marie Claire.

The Queen of discounts this year was adult products retailer Love Honey which was offering 70 per cent off selected products.

The expansion of Singles' Day in Australia underscores its transformation from a niche celebration to a prominent fixture in the retail calendar, signalling the start of the festive shopping period - and the extension of Xmas shopping into the first third of November.

Back where it began

In its home market, Singles Day was softer this year, despite recent economic stimulus measures by the government.

Alibaba which created Singles Day, and JD.com both claimed shopper numbers were up, however, they were less forthcoming on the revenue figures, according to Reuters.

Morningstar reported higher demand for categories such as sportswear and fitness as consumers shied away from luxury categories.

Meanwhile, Syntun, which publishes data on Singles Day in the region said this year's event suggests e-commerce platforms are looking to move beyond their long-standing pursuit of "low prices." That's likely a response to the emergence of Temu and Shein which have sought to introduce Single's Day style pricing all year round.

As to the figures, according to Sytun, sales were up 26.6 per cent, but that needs to be taken in the context that the event ran ten days longer this year. The best-performing category in terms of GMV and growth was Household Electronic Appliances, followed by mobile products, Clothing, Personal Care and Cosmetics and Bags and Shoes.

In a statement, Syntun noted "... the gross merchandise value of the major e-commerce platforms (only including traditional e-commerce platforms and livestreaming e-commerce platforms) was 1441.8 billion RMB ($USD191bn). "

"Traditional e-commerce platform GMV is 1109.3 billion RMB ($153USD), of which Tmall platform ranks first. Live streaming e-commerce GMV is 332.5 billion RMB ($USD46bn). Instant retail platform and community group-buying platform GMV are 28.1 billion RMB ($USD3.9bn) and 13.8 billion RMB ($USD1.9bn)respectively."