Enthusiastic shoppers in China are expected to spend a whopping $20 billion in just 24 hours as the country welcomes its annual online shopping festival tomorrow.
The figure is higher than the annual e-commerce sales of Brazil, said experts.
More than one billion packages are expected to be distributed across China during the Singles Day shopping festival on November 11 – nearly one for each Chinese or 15 for each Briton.
Delivery men sort boxes on the eve of ‘Singles Day’ shopping spree in Beijing on November 10
Enthusiastic shoppers in China are expected to spend a whopping $20 billion in just 24 hours
This means more than one billion packages are expected to be distributed across China
‘Singles Day’ has become the world’s biggest shopping festival, eclipsing Black Friday
Experts said the immense buying power of the Chinese shoppers means the Singles Day is leaving the Cyber Monday and Black Friday in the dust.
Last year’s Singles Day saw people splurging $17.8 billion in 24 hours – roughly $206,000 per second.
In comparison, Cyber Monday and Black Friday generated a combined sales of $6.79 billion worldwide in 2016, according to brand equity database BrandZ.
While the entire London Olympics cost $10.4 billion to host.
‘The magnitude of China Singles Day, driven by the engagement and passion of millions of consumers, is off the scale,’ said Doreen Wang, the Global Head of BrandZ.
There are a lot of boxes! Workers distribute express parcels at a logistics centre of China Post during Alibaba Group’s Singles’ Day global shopping festival on November 11, 2016
Last year’s Singles Day saw people splurging $17.8 billion in 24 hours – roughly $206,000 per second. Delivery companies around the China had to work around the clock to send the orders
Employees of Tmall.com work at Alibaba Headquarters on November 11, 2013 in Hangzhou
Hylink, a Chinese digital agency, predicted that this year’s Chinese buying bonanza would generate $20 billion in sales – despite a slow down in China’s economic growth.
The company’s report also pointed out that the figure is higher than the annual e-commerce spend of Brazil, one of the fastest-growing economies.
James Hebbert, Hylink’s UK manage director, said the Chinese mainly buy fashion products, digital gadgets and electronic appliances during the day.
Mr Hebbert added that the Singles Day offers a huge opportunity for international brands to break into the Chinese market due to its digital nature.
He said among the 140,000 brands available on the Singles Day, 60,000 of them come from international companies.
To boost the work efficiency, Tmall, the world’s largest online retailer, has started using cutting-edge robots in its warehouse which could sort parcels three times faster
Doreen Wang predicted the Singles Day to grow larger and more competitive as the Chinese authority is apparently backing it up.
Ms Wang said: ‘After last year’s Singles Day, the Minister of Commerce publicly promised State Council support for e-commerce innovation and online to offline integration so that the customer experience is seamless.
‘China is also committed to leading the field of online finance as the country moves from cash to mobile payments.’