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AnonymousWow, 14.3 billion in a single 24 hour span; incredible! This is definitely news to me that China actually has a national Single's Day to celebrate people's single-dom. I know of a similar custom here in the US, but it's not official and is celebrated simultaneously on Valentine's Day called S.A.D. or Single's Awareness Day. While it's usually a joke, I think it's also an opportunity for singles to try to find love. Furthermore, perhaps there is a contrast to be made here; while the Chinese celebrate their singleness, the name SAD alone here in the US connotates to a day of melancholy over one's loneliness.
AnonymousWow this concept is striking! This would make for a great study in an economics class and a sociology class. The figures alone would be an impressive number to show students who may only be familiar working with American companies. While on the other hand this concept of the "single" consumer is an interesting study for sociologists. The article did not go into detail about the shift in dating culture in China but it left me wondering when these changes really started to take shape. When did this shift of public awareness on single-dom take shape in China? I find it interesting that the article did mention how single culture has been influenced by western culture. And it was funny to note that our professor had mentioned the love of House of Cards by the Chinese and they had Kevin Spacey introduce the launch of the sales. China certainly has an entertaining culture.
AnonymousI wonder if this holiday got made up in order to have a day to buy stuff. I also wonder if the Chinese have a similar term to retail therapy. I would also like to know how the older generation who might not be familiar with singles day receives the shopping holiday.
AnonymousWow this is such a fascinating concept. I have a couple thoughts:
- It's interesting that they have a "singles" day to promote consumerism. I am reminded of Black Friday in the US in reading about the fact that there is a whole day dedicated to the idea of buying things. While many people use Black Friday to get a start on their holiday shopping, there are definitely people that use it as an opportunity to shop for themselves.
- It would be really interesting to compare different holidays in different countries as a way of studying different cultures. It's interesting to my that just with the day 11/11 there are two countries that have interpreted the significance of that day.
- Finally, I wonder how this can be used to study the way that companies play a role in different societies. I can't help but notice that both the Chinese and Korean days described in the article are tied in a way to a corporation.
Rob_Hugo@PortNWThis news is a tad late, though considering last Friday was the unofficial beginning of the holiday shopping season, perhaps news of China's economic power, spending $14.3 billion dollars in 24 hours, is timely. For those new to the concept of "Single's Day," it is a celebration of one's single-dom, a twist on Valentine's Day where couple buy gifts for one another, on Nov 11, singles buy gifts for someone they love -- themselves. 11/11 is designated as the celebratory date as the "1" grouped together looks like single people in a row, or as Bloomberg Business reports, "bare branches". This belief of 11/11 as representative of single "1"s is contrary to that in Korea as 11/11 is designated as "Peppero Day", after the chocolate covered biscuit cookie brand in the shape of sticks -- or two people standing together. Hence, 11/11 is Korea's equivalent to 2/14 in the U.S.
What is most remarkable is not the adoption of Western [consumer] customs but the sheer impact of the Chinese economy. Imagine, 14.3 billion dollars in 24 hours -- all through e commerce -- one company: Alibaba.
Please see links below for the articles regarding this topic
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-10/why-alibaba-is-having-singles-day-in-beijing-for-first-time
http://www.businessinsider.com/how-alibaba-made-143-billion-on-singles-day-2015-11
AnonymousThe BBC article I came across has some good data on Singles Day and a short clip to supplement. They are calling Singles Day China's capitalist holiday. Quite the contrary to what we thought of China 15 years ago. According to the article, despite the slowing growth of the Chinese economy sales have bee booming other wise with the great internet giant Alibaba accounting for 80% of all internet sales. As described, Singles Day truly did show "the power of Chinese consumption."