Business Insider India has updated its Privacy and Cookie policy. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the better experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we\'ll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on the Business Insider India website. However, you can change your cookie setting at any time by clicking on our Cookie Policy at any time. You can also see our Privacy Policy.
Singles' Day kicks off on Thursday in China with a massive party. Here are 5 stats that put the scale of the world's biggest shopping festival into perspective.
Singles' Day kicks off on Thursday in China with a massive party. Here are 5 stats that put the scale of the world's biggest shopping festival into perspective.
Huileng TanNov 10, 2021, 16:27 IST
An office building of Alibaba Group is pictured on August 10, 2021 in Zhengzhou, Henan Province of China.Li Qingsheng/VCG via Getty Images
Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba turned Singles' Day into a massive retail event in 2009.
Sales from Alibaba's shopping event have grown about 10 times since then to hit $78 billion last year.
Advertisement
China's shopping season kicks off on November 11 with Singles' Day.
An office building of Alibaba Group is pictured on August 10, 2021 in Zhengzhou, Henan Province of China.
Li Qingsheng/VCG via Getty Images
It's become a cultural phenomenon. Taylor Swift and Katy Perry have performed at Alibaba's shopping extravaganza, and Benedict Cumberbatch is expected this year.
Taylor Swift performs at the 2019 Singles Day gala.
VCG via Getty Images
Advertisement
Singles' Day raked in $78 billion for Alibaba in 2020, even amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Alibaba's Singles' Day event in 2020.
STR/AFP/Getty Images
Singles' Day sales far surpass US purchases on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
People in China waiting in line to collected their shopping packages from Singles' Day event.
SOPA Images/Getty Images
Advertisement
Alibaba said in a press release it handled 583,000 orders per second at the peak of its Singles' Day event last year.
Students get their packages on shelves after Double 11 shopping festival at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics on November 14, 2019 in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province of China.
China News Service / Contributor / Getty Images
Livestreaming has become an important part of Singles' Day: A top influencer sold $1.7 billion worth of stuff in a 12-hour livestream before the event even started.
Austin Li Jiaqi.
VCG/Getty Images
Advertisement
All the consumption on Singles' Day generates millions of tons of waste.
Workers sort packages for delivery at a warehouse in China a day Singles' Day 2020.
STR/AFP/Getty Images