Is Single’s Day an accident waiting to happen?

Alibaba's annual Singles’ Day has notched up $38.4 billion in sales, the Chinese e-commerce giant reported this week.

It crushed Amazon Prime Day, which this year raked in $7.16 billion globally from 15th-16th July. “Today we showed the world what the future of consumption looks like for brands and consumers,” said Fan Jiang, President at Taobao and Tmall.

“We are meeting the growing demand of Chinese consumers and helping them upgrade their lifestyles, while introducing new users to our digital economy from across China and around the world.”

But is this really the future of retail or a fad that influences shopper behaviour in negative ways? The latter, according to Andy Mulcahy, Strategy and Insight Director at IMRG. “Sure, Singles’ Day is this massive event but, as we've learned through bitter experience in the UK, when you get something that captures shopper attention to that extent, it starts to influence their behaviour in ways that are not terribly helpful,” he said in a LinkedIn post.

“Just consider Black Friday in the UK; sales on Singles Day might be up 25% in China still, but it doesn't last - and what are the ramifications for Sep, Oct and Dec? Too late to go back already…”

Whilst it’s true that Black Friday has its fair share of critics on these shores, it remains a major part of the retail calendar. This year it will take place on 29th November, with Cyber Monday following straight after on 2nd December. After a tough year, UK retailers will be hoping the two days give them a much needed boost as they step into Christmas.