Executive Summary

Singles’ Day, held annually on November 11, began as a festival of young Chinese people celebrating their pride in being single. Alibaba started promoting the day as a shopping day (now officially called the 11.11 Global Shopping Festival) back in 2009. Only 27 brands participated then, generating total GMV of $7.8 million. Last year, total GMV on Alibaba’s various platforms hit $30.8 billion, up 27% from the prior year and a whopping 252% CAGR over the past nine years.

In our monthly reports counting down to Singles’ Day, we help retailers prepare for the event. In this report, we offer a five-step guide for preparing for Single’s Day:

• Set sales targets and plan for traffic.
• Plan your product mix and prepare inventory and warehousing.
• Formulate plans to drive traffic and conversion.
• Get the backend ready.
• Monitor progress throughout to ensure the best Singles’ Day results.

Click here to read more Coresight coverage of Singles’ Day for the upcoming 2019 shopping event and prior years.