Singles' Day: the biggest global sale day of the year 63 per cent of Kiwis don't know about

Thursday, 11 November 2021

Shoppers hit Westfield Newmarket as Auckland's malls reopen for the first time since the Delta outbreak began.

Despite being the biggest shopping day in the world and a day for all the single lads and ladies to ‘treat yourself’, Singles’ Day slips quietly under the radar in Aotearoa.

According to a PriceSpy survey, 63 per cent of New Zealanders have not heard of the global sale phenomenon, which has happened on each year on November 11 since 1993.

“Singles’ Day is by far the largest of the international sales events that take place annually across the last quarter of the year,” PriceSpy New Zealand manager Liisa Matinvesi-Bassett said.

“To provide an example of the scale of Singles’ Day, last year the shopping extravaganza reportedly attracted 800 million shoppers globally,” she said.

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Singles’ Day happens every November 11, with a number of New Zealand retailers celebrating the day. (File photo)

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In 2018, the day racked up $46 billion in sales in one day.

Black Friday is more popular than Singles’ Day, despite discounts being similar. (File photo)

Singles’ Day was started by four single men at China's Nanjing University dorms, who were fed up with being single and wanted their own Valentine’s Day.

The day is also known as an ‘anti-Valentine’s Day’, and the date, November 11, was chosen because it includes all ones, as a nod to the ‘single’ element.

With seven weeks to go until Christmas Day, Singles’ Day is the largest of the international flash sale events that will take place globally.

“Yet in New Zealand, the day is still flying under the radar, with our survey findings confirming just over a third of Kiwis have heard of it,” Matinvesi-Bassett said.

New Zealand retailers are recognising the growth opportunity Singles’ Day provides, with The Warehouse, JB Hi-Fi, Briscoes, Farmers and Noel Leeming all taking part on Thursday.

The average discount on Singles’ Day last year almost equalled the average discount offered on Black Friday, which is on November 27, PriceSpy research shows.

“Our figures suggest the number of products discounted on Black Friday last year far exceeded that of Singles’ Day,” Matinvesi-Bassett said.

“But when we look at the average price change, the findings between both events were very similar – of the items that dropped in price by 10 per cent or more, the average price change on Singles’ Day 2020 was 19 percent, whereas on Black Friday it was 20 per cent,” she said.

But no matter what shoppers were looking to buy in Singles’ Day sales to put under the Christmas tree, it paid to compared prices.

Price Spy found 20 per cent of items could be bought for less on other big sales days.