Black Friday and 11.11 (Singles’ Day) were once primarily one-day events, contained to their individual markets — the US and China. Now they have expanded across the calendar and exploded across the world. Both sales kicked off late October, with Black Friday peaking on Nov. 24 and Singles’ Day culminating (of course) on 11.11.
Black Friday is now celebrated in 60% of markets worldwide and has reset the retail calendar in many countries — even though, culturally, it makes no real sense outside of the US (It’s the day after Thanksgiving in the States, but that is a mainly North American holiday.) Although way bigger in sales, 11.11 is not as broadly influential, but it is making ground beyond China. It’s big in Southeast Asia, significant to Chinese expats in many countries, and this year is making inroads into Brazil (with their first 11.11 activation) and Spain (with Alibaba’s fashion site Miravia).
With the help of VMLY&R Commerce analysts across the world, we’ve pulled together the key stats for what is now the biggest month in commerce. Happy holidays!
