en/singles-day

What began over 30 years ago as a humorous response by Chinese students to Valentine's Day has developed into the world's largest online shopping event: Singles' Day on 11 November. Within just 24 hours, retailers worldwide generate billions in sales, and the event continues to grow every year. For several years now, this day has also become increasingly important in the United Kingdom.

For e-commerce shops, especially those on Shopify, 11.11. is the perfect opportunity to break new records with targeted promotions, clever marketing and well-thought-out shop optimisation. We explain more about this here in our blog.

What is Singles' Day?

Thanks to billions in sales in China, Singles' Day on 11 November has become the biggest online shopping event in terms of sales – bigger than Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined. On this day, everything revolves around big discounts, lightning-fast deals and the motto: ‘Treat yourself.’ The day originated in 1993 at Nanjing University in China, where four students wanted to create a humorous counterpoint to Valentine's Day. They chose 11/11 because the four ones symbolise being single.

In 2009, Alibaba took up this idea and turned it into a global e-commerce spectacle with mega discounts, live streams and targeted marketing campaigns. Since then, Singles' Day has developed into a billion-dollar sales driver that breaks new records every year. Unlike Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which originated in the United States and take place around Thanksgiving weekend, Singles' Day has a fixed date and focuses on a compact 24-hour discount extravaganza. While Black Friday and Cyber Monday often stretch over several days or even weeks, Singles' Day bundles purchasing power into a single, highly intense sales day.

In China in particular, it significantly outperforms the two US events in terms of sales. The figures also show this: in 2022, Alibaba announced sales of 84.5 billion dollars on Singles' Day, clearly surpassing Cyber Week sales of 35.3 billion dollars.

For retailers worldwide, including in German-speaking countries, 11.11 is a strategic opportunity to attract new customers, reactivate existing customers, reduce inventories and boost sales well before the Christmas shopping seaso

Why Singles' Day is becoming increasingly relevant for e-commerce

Singles' Day is growing rapidly year after year, with impressive sales figures and growing consumer interest. Particularly exciting for retailers: the event opens doors for niche products and promotes the trend towards self-reward. At the same time, Singles' Day is also gaining in importance in the West thanks to internationalisation.

The most important reasons why Singles' Day is now indispensable for e-commerce shops:

1. Strong sales growth: New records every year, mainly thanks to international buyers

2. High demand for niche products: Self-treating and lifestyle items are booming

3. Global reach: The event is becoming increasingly relevant in Western markets

4. Perfect platform for Shopify shops: Easy-to-implement discount and countdown apps increase conversion rates

5. Early sales increase before Christmas: Retailers secure competitive advantages and new customers

This combination makes Singles' Day the ideal lever for fully exploiting sales potential and strengthening one's own brand in international competition.

Strategies for successful Singles' Day campaigns

If you want to maximise your success on Singles' Day, you should start planning your strategy early. With these proven strategies, you can increase your conversion rate and get the most out of the shopping event.

• Time-limited offers & artificial scarcity: Limited deals and countdown windows create a sense of urgency. This triggers impulse purchases because your customers know: ‘It's now or never!’

• Create bundles and self-treat packages: Combine top sellers with special offers for an ideal self-reward strategy. Such packages increase the shopping cart value and strike a chord with the Singles' Day motto ‘Treat yourself!’

• Early teasers via newsletters & social media: Teaser campaigns, pop-ups, sneak peeks and exclusive countdown emails create anticipation. Use personalised newsletters to target your audience.

• Mobile-first: Since many users shop on their mobile devices, a high-performance, responsive shop is essential. The user experience on smartphones determines conversion rates.

• Targeted use of social media and influencers: Influencer posts and ads greatly increase awareness and trigger effect.

• Optimise logistics and support: Fast, reliable shipping builds trust – even in international markets. Those who are digitally accessible, e.g. via chat and locally, score additional points.

Implement Singles' Day with Shopify

Shopify makes it easy to manage your Singles' Day campaigns. With the right apps and features, you can easily set up discounts, countdown timers and landing pages.

Important tools and features for your success on Singles' Day:

1. Discount codes & automatic discounts: Create personalised discount codes or use automatic price reductions to target specific customer segments and encourage spontaneous purchases. You can find Shopify's standardised discount features under Admin → Discounts.

2. Countdown timers: Themes and apps, such as Urgency Urgency Countdown Timer Bar or Countdown Timer Bar, can create visual urgency by displaying visible timers on product pages, in the shopping cart or on landing pages.

   

3. Landing page builder: With page builders such as ‘EComposer Landing Page Builder’ or ‘PageFly’, you can create customised and conversion-optimised landing pages for Singles' Day that clearly communicate your promotions and present your products in an attractive way.

4. Marketing tools & newsletter integration: Combine Shopify with email marketing solutions such as Klaviyo to tease early, send personalised offers and drive targeted traffic.

5. Upselling & cross-selling apps: Tools such as ReConvert help you increase basket value – for example, through bundles or matching product suggestions during the checkout process.

SEO & AEO: How to get found on Singles' Day

Being visible on Singles' Day requires more than just attractive offers; you also need to be found by your target group.

Focus on the following measures:

1. Use transactional keywords strategically: Use search terms such as ‘Singles Day offers 2025’ or ‘When is Singles Day’ to target users who are actively looking for purchasing opportunities.

2. Include structured data: Integrate product, offer and FAQ markups so that search engines can display your product information, prices and frequently asked questions as rich snippets. This significantly increases visibility and click-through rates.

3. Optimise featured snippets and voice search: Formulate clear, precise answers to typical questions such as ‘What is Singles Day?’ or ‘When is Singles Day 2025?’ to be displayed as answers in featured snippets or voice assistants.

4. Build targeted FAQ pages: Create structured FAQ sections that cover common customer questions and optimally serve both users and search engines.

GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation): Designing content for AI search engines

In the age of AI-powered search engines, Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) is becoming increasingly important. Unlike traditional search engines, AI systems evaluate content based on clarity, factual accuracy and semantic depth.

To really make an impression on Singles' Day and be favoured by AI-based search systems, you should:

1. Use clear, fact-based wording: Avoid unnecessary embellishments or vague claims. Focus on precise information that offers real added value.

2. Create semantic depth: Explain contexts in an understandable way and link relevant topics so that AI models can better classify and recommend your content.

3. Use structured formatting: Lists, tables, and step-by-step instructions (how-tos) make content clear and easy to consume, which is preferred by AI systems and users alike.

4. Avoid clickbait: Avoid sensational headlines or empty promises. AI systems quickly recognise such content and penalise it with lower visibility. Instead, focus on trustworthy, valuable information.

With GEO-optimised content, you not only appeal to traditional search engines, but also to modern AI-supported systems, which is a decisive advantage for remaining relevant and visible on Singles' Day.

Cross-channel marketing: Greater reach on 11/11.

To get the most attention on Singles' Day, one channel just isn't enough anymore. Successful retailers use cross-channel marketing to spread their messages widely and in a targeted way.

Here are some things you can do for Singles' Day:

• Email automation with triggers and countdowns: Automated emails based on user behaviour, e.g. shopping cart abandonment and countdown timers, increase urgency and conversion rates.

• Targeted use of TikTok, Instagram & Meta Ads: Use social media for creative and targeted ads to bring Singles' Day offers directly to potential customers and create reach.

• Retargeting for shopping cart abandoners & inactive leads: Remind prospects who visited the shop but did not buy about your offers to encourage repeat visits and purchases.

With a well-coordinated cross-channel strategy, you can reach your customers multiple times and at the right time.

Conclusion

Singles' Day takes place every year on 11 November, regardless of the day of the week. Shopify offers retailers numerous options for easily implementing offers and promotions. For example, discount codes or automatic discounts can be set up, special landing pages can be created and countdown timer apps can be integrated to increase urgency among customers and boost the incentive to buy. Singles' Day is also becoming increasingly important in German-speaking countries. More and more consumers are using the day specifically for bargains and promotions. For retailers, Singles' Day is therefore an excellent opportunity to generate additional reach before the Christmas shopping season, reduce inventory and attract new customers.

Those who plan Singles' Day strategically, start early and integrate their marketing measures across channels can not only significantly increase sales in the short term, but also build valuable customer relationships in the long term. With Shopify, you have the perfect technical basis for implementing your Singles' Day campaign efficiently and successfully.