Every year on November 11, e-commerce sites across Asia promote deals for what's known as Singles' Day. Beginning in China, it has expanded to become the world’s busiest shopping day, by far exceeding Black Friday in U.S. in terms of consumer spending.
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00:00The biggest shopping day in the world isn't Black Friday.
00:03It's November 11th, or what has become known as Singles Day.
00:08The phenomenon began in China as a celebration for single people,
00:12who are represented by four individual ones in the date 11-11.
00:31The idea of Singles Day began with university students in Nanjing, China.
00:36But in 2009, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba introduced a sale for the day.
00:42The promotion caught on in a big way, driving a massive spike in consumption.
00:47Now, every year, online platforms in China rack up billions in sales.
00:53Last year, sellers accrued nearly $158 billion US dollars
00:57during the Singles Day period.
00:59That's compared to the around $35 billion US dollars
01:02that shoppers in the US spend during the country's busiest shopping period,
01:06right after Thanksgiving, known as Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
01:11Here in the streets of Taipei's busiest shopping district,
01:14there isn't actually much going on.
01:16But that's because, unlike Black Friday,
01:18most of the Singles Day action takes place online.
01:22In the past decade, consumers in Taiwan have bought into
01:25the Singles Day phenomenon,
01:27with online shopping platforms like Shopee offering special deals.
01:56Singles Day started as a 24-hour shopping spree,
01:59but now it's become an event that starts as early as late October,
02:03giving shoppers ample time to splurge on everything from luxury goods
02:07to everyday necessities on online platforms and at retail stores.
02:11And as the unofficial holiday continues to grow in Taiwan
02:15and across the Asia-Pacific region,
02:17it's likely Singles Day will continue to hold the title
02:20of the world's busiest shopping day.
02:22Joseph Wu, Wesley Lewis and Millie Hughes for Taiwan Plus.