November 11 is a special day for all of the single men in China. The day goes by several names: Bare Branch Day, Singles Day, the Double Eleventh, and an e-commerce festival. In America, it would be the equivalent to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, however there is a touch of sadness involved because of the emphasis on still being single and alone.
This year it is expected that sales will be about $5 billion, mostly on discounted online goods. Everyone is buying everything: brassieres, underwear, and mobile devices, anything under the sun. Single people are buying for themselves and for their friends. It is such an interesting cultural day. The most interesting thing bought or looked for during this e-commerce spree: brides.
It is a Groupon-style site that offers men a bride-hunting trip to Vietnam. Now that is an interesting deal! It is apart of a trend for Chinese bachelors that aren’t rich to look for brides in poorer nations, like Vietnam.
This festival began because of four single, male college students in Nanjing that decided to celebrate their single status, rather than be depressed because of their culture that expects marriage at a young age.
Chinese businesses are worried about the volume of sales during this day. The demand and the sales are so high, but they’re worried about actually being able to deliver the goods. Hopefully demand doesn’t outweigh the abilities.
I previously wrote a blog post about the huge sales on this day of the year in China, dwarfing Cyber Monday and Black Friday in the United States. I like your perspective on the details of the history of the day. It’s also a good point to wonder whether all that sales could have a negative effect- such as the inability to make good on all those online purchases.