With six months to go until China's Singles' Day 2025 (at the time of this episode's release), Retaili$tic explores the festival's impressive global growth and offers insights to help brands and retailers prepare early for this year's event. Leveraging proprietary survey data, the Coresight Research team highlights recent trends in consumer behavior and dives into the impacts of tariffs on attitudes toward Singles' Day spending. Listen now to discover our expectations for Singles' Day growth and the challenges that retailers may face.
Takeaways
Chapters
00:00 This Week in Research: New Reports and Data
02:14 The Evolution of Singles' Day: From Celebration to Shopping Bonanza
04:44 Recent Trends and Spending Patterns During Singles' Day
09:05 Shifts in Consumer Behavior and Preferences
13:15 Looking Ahead: Expectations for Singles' Day 2025
18:10 Global Influence of Singles' Day Beyond China
22:25 Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways for Brands
Dive into our comprehensive insights with the new research report: How Will Tariffs Impact China’s Singles’ Day 2025? Six Months To Go—What Brands and Retailers Need to Know
This report is available exclusively for Coresight Research premium subscribers. To become a premium subscriber, email contactus@coresight.com.
Welcome to Retaili$tic, the official podcast of Coresight Research for May 13th, 2025. This week, we are looking ahead six months to start planning for the Single's Day Shopping Festival. Our Asia retail analyst, Sophie-Ann Luo, will join us for a deep dive on the world's biggest shopping day. First, let's bring in Georgina Smith, our head of editorial from the London office to preview some of the research we're publishing this week on Coresight.com. Hi Georgina!
Hi Philip, this week Coresight Research is publishing the 2025 iteration of our flagship Amazon apparel US Consumer Survey report. Since 2018, we have conducted an annual survey of a couple of thousand consumers to shed light on their clothing and footwear shopping patterns and habits on amazon.com. As well as unpacking the findings from this year's survey, we also draw from our comprehensive eight-year data set to provide valuable insights on how apparel shopping behaviour has shifted over time.
Amazon has firmly established itself as a comprehensive apparel destination, leveraging its strengths in competitive pricing, expansive assortment, and sophisticated logistical operations. Furthermore, despite facing a challenging macro environment, including high input costs and new tariff hikes on imported fashion goods, Amazon continues to demonstrate great resilience. I encourage listeners to dive into this research to understand Amazon's popularity among apparel shoppers and how it stacks up against Walmart as well as what motivates apparel shoppers to keep coming back to the platform. You can also discover which apparel brands and categories reign supreme on amazon.com.
Other reports to look out for this week cover our insights on retail theft and shrink, new data on US retail sales in April, and insights on China's singles day, which Sophie will now highlight in more detail. Thank you.
Philip (Host): Thanks Georgina. Today, we’re delighted to welcome Sophie to the Retailistic studio. Sophie is a Hong Kong-based analyst with Coresight Research, focusing on Asian retail and the perfect guest to talk about the World’s biggest shopping festival. Sophie, thank you for being here today.
Sophie (Guest): Hi Philip, thank you for having me. I’m excited to talk about Singles’ Day – it’s a huge event in the retail world and there’s a lot to discuss.
Philip: Absolutely. Singles’ Day – or “Double 11” as it’s often called – has become *the* biggest shopping festival on the planet. But for those listeners who might not be familiar, could you start by giving us some background on the history and importance of the Singles’ Day Shopping Festival? How did this all begin?
Sophie: Certainly. The history of Singles’ Day is really interesting. It actually started out in the 1990s as an informal celebration for single people in China – November 11th, or 11/11, was chosen because the date is written with four “1”s, representing singles. It was sort of an “anti-Valentine’s Day” where single folks would treat themselves. But the big transformation happened in 2009 when Alibaba – the e-commerce giant – saw an opportunity. Alibaba’s online platform (what we now know as Tmall, part of Taobao and Tmall Group) held the first Singles’ Day shopping sale on November 11, 2009. That first year was small-scale – just a handful of brands participated – but it was successful enough to catch on.
Philip: And it *really* caught on. It went from a quirky student holiday to a massive shopping bonanza in just a few years.
Sophie: Exactly. Alibaba essentially created a new shopping holiday. By offering big discounts on 11/11 and marketing it cleverly as a day to “treat yourself,” they tapped into a huge consumer appetite. Over the years, more and more retailers and brands jumped in. It quickly grew beyond Alibaba’s platforms too – other e-commerce companies like JD.com launched their own Singles’ Day promotions to compete. Fast-forward to today, and Singles’ Day is the largest shopping festival in the world in terms of sales. For context, it’s often said to surpass the combined sales of Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the U.S. in a single day. We’re talking about tens of billions of dollars spent within roughly 24 hours – it’s massive.
Philip: Wow. It’s incredible how it evolved. And it’s not just the sales figures – I remember seeing that Alibaba turned it into a kind of entertainment spectacle as well, with star-studded gala events counting down to midnight.
Sophie: That’s right. In its heyday, Alibaba would host televised gala shows on the evening of November 10th – featuring celebrities, musicians, even international stars – all building hype for the stroke of midnight when the deals go live. It became *both* a cultural phenomenon and a barometer of consumer spending. The importance of Singles’ Day now is huge: it’s a key indicator of China’s consumer sentiment and economic trends. Brands plan for it year-round. It can make or break quarterly earnings for retailers. And it’s a showcase for new products and retail tech innovations – think livestream shopping, flash sales, and so on, all tested at an enormous scale.
Philip: It’s amazing. Let’s talk about the recent trends we’ve seen. Singles’ Day has been breaking records year after year, but I know growth has started to moderate as the numbers become so large. What have the spending levels been like in the past few years? Any notable stats from, say, last year’s festival?
Sophie: Great question. In recent years, even if the growth has slowed a bit, the scale is still expanding and records are still being set in different ways. Just last year – Singles’ Day 2024 – Alibaba’s Taobao and Tmall platform reported a *record number of active buyers* participating. So more people shopped than ever before. To give another data point: JD.com, which is one of the other big e-commerce players, said they saw over 20% more shoppers in 2024 compared to the previous year. So participation was up on both major platforms.
Philip: A record number of shoppers – that’s interesting, because I recall that Alibaba had stopped disclosing the gross merchandise value for Singles’ Day in some recent years, perhaps due to regulatory or economic reasons. But instead they highlighted user engagement metrics like active buyers. So it sounds like even if sales totals aren’t skyrocketing as before, engagement is at an all-time high.
Sophie: Exactly. Engagement is huge, and that’s an important point. Alibaba, as you said, has been a bit more cautious about flaunting GMV (gross merchandise value) figures publicly lately. But they did emphasize things like user engagement and the number of orders. The fact that Taobao/Tmall had a record high number of active consumers in 2024 tells us that the event is still growing in reach. More people in China are participating – even if individual spending might be a bit more measured given economic conditions, the base of shoppers is larger.
On JD.com’s side – a 20% jump in shopper count year-on-year is pretty significant. It suggests that even a rival platform was able to bring in many new or returning customers for the festival. So across the board, Singles’ Day is still drawing in growing crowds of shoppers.
Philip: And what about the overall sales growth? You mentioned spending might be more measured now. How would you characterize the *growth rate* or total spending trend recently?
Sophie: We’ve seen a bit of a slowdown in growth rates as the market matures. In the early 2010s, Singles’ Day sales were growing by double or even triple digits year-over-year because e-commerce in China was exploding. Now, with the festival so massive, growth is naturally in the single-digit percentages or low double-digits at best. Last year (2024) was still a growth year – we understand it was *continuous growth but at a slower pace.
Alibaba hasn’t given an official total for 2024, but they indicated it was on par with or slightly above the previous year’s sales. There were reports that total festival sales across platforms were roughly steady or up a bit, despite economic headwinds. So we’re looking at *steady but slower growth*. Importantly, that’s still growth – the event hasn’t stalled out, it’s just not doubling anymore. And considering the economic context – things like COVID recovery, consumer confidence, and even geopolitical factors like tariffs – it’s notable that Singles’ Day remained so strong.
Philip: Right, that makes sense. It’s become such a cornerstone of retail that even a “slower” year is still enormous in absolute terms. You hinted at economic headwinds and factors like tariffs – we’ll definitely get to the 2025 outlook and those challenges in a moment. Before that, I want to talk about consumer behavior. Have you observed any shifts in how consumers approach Singles’ Day deals? For instance, are people looking for different kinds of promotions or products now compared to previous years?
Sophie: Yes, there have been some interesting shifts in consumer behavior. One big trend is that shoppers have become more sophisticated and demanding in the types of promotions they want. Early on, Singles’ Day was all about one thing: huge discounts, the lowest prices of the year. While low prices are still crucial, consumers now increasingly prefer *value-added offers* in addition to just discounts.
What do we mean by value-added? Shoppers love deals that come with something extra – for example, deluxe sample kits, free gifts, or limited-edition items bundled with their purchase. Instead of simply 50% off, they might get a special gift set or an exclusive collectible item if they spend a certain amount. This has become popular especially in categories like beauty and cosmetics, where brands offer festive gift boxes or bonus samples to entice buyers. It turns the purchase into more of an experience or a collector’s opportunity, not just a transaction.
Philip: That’s a great point. So it’s not only about slashing the price tag, but about feeling you got something special or extra for your money.
Sophie: Yes, it’s about perceived value and experience. Many consumers will even say, “I’m waiting for Singles’ Day to buy that face cream because I know the brand will include a bunch of mini products or a limited-edition packaging.” It’s a savvy way for retailers to differentiate their offers when everyone is doing big discounts. We’ve also seen things like extended warranties or VIP customer service offered as part of big-ticket purchases during Singles’ Day – again, value-adds beyond just a cheaper price.
Another shift is in product preferences during the festival. Singles’ Day caters to pretty much every category – from electronics to fashion to groceries – but we’ve noticed some categories surging more than others recently. Notably, casualwear and sportswear have been among the top-selling product categories in the festival. Chinese consumers have really embraced a more casual, health-conscious lifestyle in recent years, and that reflects in their Singles’ Day shopping. Within that, one standout is outdoor sportswear – things like outdoor apparel, hiking gear, camping equipment. These have become extremely popular, with outdoor-focused brands seeing a big boost.
In fact, according to last year’s data, outdoor and sportswear sales were up by about 70% year-on-year during Singles’ Day 2024, and over 2,000 brands in that space saw their revenue double compared to the previous year’s festival. That’s a huge jump, showing how demand for outdoor gear has skyrocketed. Consumers, perhaps after pandemic lockdowns, have been eager to get outside and they’re investing in appropriate clothing and equipment – and they waited for Singles’ Day deals to do it.
Philip: 70% year-on-year growth in outdoor sportswear – that’s remarkable. It really illustrates how trends in lifestyle can reflect immediately in Singles’ Day sales. As you said, people in China are doing more outdoor activities, and boom – outdoor brands reap the benefits during the big sale. And the idea of more casual and sports apparel being top-sellers is interesting; maybe a shift from more formal wear or luxury fashion to everyday wear and wellness-oriented products.
Sophie: Definitely. It doesn’t mean luxury or electronics aren’t selling – they certainly are – but the growth momentum in categories like sportswear is telling. It suggests the Singles’ Day shopping spree is aligning with a broader focus on health, wellness, and comfort. We’re also seeing healthy foods and supplements gaining traction, for example, as part of that wellness trend.
Philip: Let’s turn our attention forward. Singles’ Day 2025 is about six months away now. What are the expectations for the 2025 event? You mentioned slower but steady growth. Could you elaborate on what we might anticipate in terms of sales growth or any changes in how the festival is run? And also, let’s discuss those external factors – things like tariffs, supply chain pressures, etc., that could impact this year’s outcomes.
Sophie: Looking ahead to 2025, a key word is cautious optimism. Most analysts, including us at Coresight, expect continued growth in Singles’ Day sales, but at a relatively modest pace – essentially slower but steady growth. The event is so mature in China that we probably won’t see huge percentage jumps, barring an economic boom. Instead, we might see something like, hypothetically, a mid-single-digit percentage increase in GMV year-over-year. The significance of Singles’ Day in China’s retail scene remains enormous, so even if the economy is just okay, people will still shop on 11/11. It’s almost a ritual at this point.
However, there are some headwinds to consider for 2025. Tariffs are one of them. The trade tensions and tariffs between the U.S. and China have been in place for a few years now, and while they’re not directly aimed at Singles’ Day, they create an economic backdrop that can’t be ignored. Some tariffs are affecting Chinese exports and certain imports. In fact, these higher tariffs have already started impacting businesses and have even put a halt to various trade flows between China and the US in certain categories. Now, domestically in China, consumers haven’t felt a huge hit from tariffs *yet* – everyday shopping is still strong. But if those trade frictions continue, they could indirectly affect consumer confidence (for example, if manufacturing slowdowns lead to layoffs, etc.). So tariffs and the broader geopolitical climate are a bit of a wildcard – a risk factor that could dampen consumer sentiment if things worsen.
Philip: That’s a great point. So far, the Chinese consumer has been resilient, but if the economy slows or people worry about jobs, big shopping sprees could be curbed. How about supply chain and logistics pressures? Singles’ Day must be a colossal challenge for delivery networks and inventory management. Are there concerns about that for 2025?
Sophie: Absolutely. Logistics is a huge part of the Singles’ Day story every year. We’re talking billions of parcels to be delivered in the days and weeks following 11/11. One thing that’s happened, as you alluded to, is the extension of the Singles’ Day sales period. It’s no longer literally just 24 hours of deals. In recent years, Alibaba and others have started promotions in late October or early November, sometimes splitting the sales into two waves, to spread out demand a bit. We anticipate an extended period for Singles’ Day in 2025 as well – perhaps a longer pre-sale period or multiple “checkout” windows.
This helps prevent all orders from flooding in at midnight on November 11, but it also means retailers need to manage inventory over a longer promotional timeline and keep the excitement up. The flip side is, as you noted, logistics networks face intense pressure. Couriers, warehouses, delivery robots – every part of the supply chain is pushed to the max. In 2025, with e-commerce still growing, delivery firms will likely hire extra staff and deploy more automation to handle the surge. The challenge is to deliver packages on time despite the sheer volume. Any hiccup – like weather issues or a COVID resurgence in a region – can throw things off.
There’s also the matter of supply chain for products themselves: global shipping costs, chip shortages (if we talk electronics), etc. By late 2025, some of those pandemic-era supply chain disruptions have eased, but new ones can emerge. Retailers will be calibrating their inventories very carefully before Singles’ Day, because the last thing you want is to stock out of a hot product on the biggest sales day, or conversely to overstock something that doesn’t sell and be stuck with inventory.
Philip: So a longer sales event, more drawn-out logistics, but still a major crunch time for everyone from warehouses to delivery drivers. And it sounds like efficiency tools are key – I imagine companies are using things like AI for demand forecasting, or automated warehouses to cope.
Sophie: Absolutely. The scale of Singles’ Day has pushed logistics and retail tech forward. Companies invest in better forecast algorithms, warehouse robotics, sorting machines, even autonomous vehicles in some cases to shuttle packages. It’s an impressive operation to behold. And that investment is necessary – as the festival grows in volume even modestly, the backend has to keep up. In fact, the pressure to handle Singles’ Day has been a catalyst for innovations in China’s delivery industry over the past decade.
Philip: Now, Sophie, we’ve focused a lot on China. I’d like to zoom out a bit. What about Singles’ Day-style shopping festivals outside of China? Have we seen this concept of 11/11 sales catch on elsewhere? Are consumers in other countries participating in similar shopping sprees?
Sophie: Singles’ Day has definitely spilled over beyond China’s borders in a few ways. Firstly, Alibaba itself markets 11/11 as a “Global Shopping Festival.” They invite international consumers to shop via their platforms like AliExpress and Lazada. So, for example, shoppers in Europe, Southeast Asia, or even North America can take part by ordering products from Chinese merchants during Singles’ Day. In recent years, Alibaba reported millions of overseas customers on 11/11; it’s not just a China-only affair anymore. You’ll find bargain-hunters from over 200 countries logging in for deals on that day.
Secondly, in Southeast Asia, Singles’ Day has become a major event on local e-commerce platforms. Lazada (which is Alibaba-owned) and Shopee (another big regional player) both heavily promote November 11 sales in countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and others. It’s often one of their biggest sale days of the year, right up there with regional shopping events like 12/12 or Ramadan sales. Consumers in those markets have embraced it – you’ll see tons of 11.11 advertisements and countdowns in those countries, almost mirroring the Chinese festival energy.
Philip: Interesting – so Southeast Asia has really caught the Singles’ Day fever, so to speak.
Sophie: Yes, very much. It makes sense: e-commerce is big in those markets, and many of those platforms learned from the China playbook. They introduced their own 11/11 campaigns, sometimes even with local twists or local celebrity endorsements. The result is Singles’ Day is now an Asia-wide shopping phenomenon, not just China.
Outside of Asia, the impact is there but more muted. In Western countries, November is already crowded with holiday sales events – think Black Friday, Cyber Monday, etc., which come just a couple weeks after Singles’ Day. So Singles’ Day isn’t a mainstream event in, say, the U.S or Europe for domestic retailers. However, some savvy consumers in the West do know about it and might scout Chinese websites for deals. And a few international retailers have tried piggybacking on the idea. I’ve seen occasional promotions by brands or overseas websites on 11/11, using the “Singles’ Day” tagline to encourage people to shop, though it’s not widespread.
One could argue that Amazon’s Prime Day – which started in 2015 in July – is a similar concept of a self-created shopping holiday, though it wasn’t directly because of Singles’ Day, it shows the trend of retailers making their own big sale events. Overall, the Singles’ Day concept of a giant, attention-grabbing sale has at least influenced retail globally, even if it’s only truly dominant in Asia at the moment.
Philip: So globally we see some adoption and definitely a lot of participation via Chinese platforms, but nothing yet rivals the scale of what’s happening within China on 11/11. It’s also fascinating how Alibaba effectively exported the festival through its international marketplaces.
Sophie: Exactly. And for global brands, even if their home country shoppers aren’t doing Singles’ Day, *they* participate by selling into China on that date. You have big names from Europe, North America, Australia, etc., all gearing up to offer deals to Chinese consumers on Singles’ Day through Tmall Global or JD Worldwide (the cross-border sections of those sites). So in that sense it’s a global shopping event – brands worldwide are involved in courting Chinese shoppers. And increasingly, as I mentioned, consumers in neighboring countries are part of it too.
It wouldn’t surprise me if over time we see November 11 become more recognized globally as e-commerce continues to grow. But for now, it remains a unique phenomenon that originated in China and showcases the country’s retail prowess.
Philip: Before we wrap up, Sophie, let’s circle back to China and the upcoming Singles’ Day 2025. Given everything we’ve discussed – the history, the current trends, consumer behavior shifts, and external challenges – what are your final thoughts or advice on what to watch for as we approach this year’s festival? Especially for brands and retailers, what should they be mindful of?
Sophie: I’d say monitor consumer sentiment closely in the coming months. As we noted, consumer confidence and sentiment in China will dictate how much people are willing to splurge come November. Right now, indicators are mixed – there’s some post-pandemic recovery momentum, but also uncertainties (like the property market or job market) that could make consumers cautious. If the government introduces any stimulus measures to boost consumption, that could give Singles’ Day a nice push. So keep an eye on any policy moves or economic signals.
For brands and retailers, the key is preparation and differentiation. It’s a very crowded field – thousands of brands vie for attention on Singles’ Day. Starting preparations early is crucial: securing inventory, fine-tuning pricing strategies, and planning those value-added offers we talked about to stand out from pure price-cutters. Also, marketing wise, building excitement through social media, influencer partnerships, and livestreams ahead of 11/11 is now standard practice.
Another thing to watch is innovation in engagement – every year we see something new. In past years it was live video selling; perhaps this year we’ll see more use of AR/VR try-on features or interactive mini-games in shopping apps that keep people hooked in the run-up to Singles’ Day. The platforms will definitely push the envelope to keep consumers excited despite the event being a long-running tradition now.
And of course, be ready operationally. That means stress-testing your logistics, customer service, and website/app infrastructure. Websites have crashed under the traffic of Singles’ Day before – you don’t want that. And ensure your delivery and fulfillment partners are geared up for the spike in orders, especially if you’re promising quick shipping. As we discussed, with an extended sales period, it might be a slightly more spread-out rush, but it will still be intense.
In summary, we expect Singles’ Day 2025 to still set new records – albeit modest ones – and continue to be the marquee event for retail in China, barring any major negative shocks. It will be fascinating to see how it plays out and which trends dominate this year – whether it’s new hot product categories, new promotional tactics, or how external factors like tariffs truly come into play if at all.
Philip: It will indeed be fascinating. This has been a really enlightening discussion, Sophie. We’ve covered the rich history of Singles’ Day, its evolution into a record-shattering shopping festival, the latest trends in spending and consumer preferences – like the rise of value-added deals and outdoor gear – and we’ve looked ahead to what 2025 might hold, including slower but steady growth and some challenges on the horizon. We even touched on the global impact of Singles’ Day beyond China.
Thank you so much for sharing your insights with us. I appreciate how you broke down the information in a way that connects the dots from the bigger picture down to the consumer’s mindset.
Sophie: Thank you, Philip. It was a pleasure to chat about it. Singles’ Day is such a dynamic topic, and it’s been great discussing it with you.