What’s the Story?
The peak of
Singles’ Day 2021 (also known as the 11.11 Global Shopping Festival)—the second official sales period—took place on November 11. In this report, we discuss promotions from around the world, including North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. Coresight Research has leaned on its global analyst teams to compile examples of online and in-store deals.
Why It Matters
Originating in China, Singles’ Day is the largest shopping festival in the world and has expanded in recent years across both online and offline channels. This year, Chinese e-commerce giants
Alibaba and JD.com reported GMV of $84.7 billion and $54.7 billion, respectively. Many brands and retailers globally participated in the event this year, helping to cement Singles’ Day as an international shopping event.
Singles’ Day 2021 Around the World: Coresight Research Analysis
Deals and discounts varied greatly between retailers but were predominantly offered by online platforms. We saw many promotions centered around the number 11 for the 11.11 festival.
The US and Canada
In the US and Canada, Singles’ Day coincides with Veterans Day/Remembrance Day (and it is Remembrance Day in a number of European countries, too), which presents a disadvantage to scaling a shopping festival on this date. However, brands and retailers with a presence in these markets used the 11.11 festival to offer early holiday promotions to consumers, pre-empting Black Friday on November 26, 2021.
- Beauty and luxury
- Korean skincare brand Erborian offered $10 discounts for its US consumers on orders worth $45 and over. The sale ran from November 9 to November 11.
[caption id="attachment_136197" align="aligncenter" width="725"]
Source: Erborian[/caption]
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- Another Korean skincare brand, Innisfree, sold all featured items for $11 during November 9–11 and offered a free, full-size “Mu Lip Balm” for any purchase worth over $55 for its US consumers.
- American cosmetics brand Elizabeth Arden offered 20% discounts sitewide and free shipping for orders over $50.
- Kipling, a handbag brand of VF Corporation, offered additional discounts on sale items through its “Extra 30% Off Sale” from November 10 to 11.
[caption id="attachment_136198" align="aligncenter" width="726"]
Source: Kipling[/caption]
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- Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) offered 20% discounts in Canada, with an exclusive gift for customers that placed orders worth over $135.
- British-Portuguese luxury fashion retailer Farfetch offered a limited-time 22% discount on selected full-price items worth over $145.
- The RealReal, an online luxury marketplace, had a 40% off sale on selected items in jewelry, bags, sneakers and watches.
Bedding retailer
Brooklinen offered 15% discounts sitewide in the US.
[caption id="attachment_136199" align="aligncenter" width="726"]
Source: Brooklinen[/caption]
- General retailer Verishop’s promotion listed deals starting at $11.
- Apparel
- New York-based cashmere brand NAADAM’s Singles' Day Sale offered 30% discounts from November 10 to 11.
- LIT Activewear offered 25% discounts on orders over $99.
- Apparel brand Tommy Hilfiger had a sitewide sale, with 40% discounts via the code “SINGLES.”
- E-commerce Canadian apparel brand Oak + Fort offered $11 off for every $50 spent on its North American website.
[caption id="attachment_136200" align="aligncenter" width="725"]
Source: Oak + Fort[/caption]
Europe (France, Germany and the UK)
- Apparel
- British fashion and cosmetics retailer ASOS offered extra 20% discounts on existing sales items for Singles’ Day via a voucher code.
[caption id="attachment_136201" align="aligncenter" width="727"]
Source: ASOS[/caption]
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- Amazon UK is running "Early Black Friday Deals" from November 8 to November 18, offering up to 40% discounts.
[caption id="attachment_136203" align="aligncenter" width="723"]
Source: Amazon [/caption]
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- Boohoo, a UK fashion retailer, offered 30% discounts on all menswear and an extra 11% off with a voucher code, as well as a "Calling all single ladies" promotion that offers 20% off all womenswear.
- Electronics
- French e-commerce website Cdiscount held a promotion on November 11 that offered €11 ($12.50) off purchases of € 111 ($126), along with special deals across categories.
[caption id="attachment_136204" align="aligncenter" width="723"]
Source: Cdiscount[/caption]
- In Germany, electronics retailer Media Markt offered 11% discounts across all categories.
Southeast Asia (Hong Kong, South Korea, India)
Hong Kong, South Korea and India are especially influenced by Singles’ Day due to their proximity to mainland China and the reach of China’s e-commerce companies.
- Apparel e-commerce retailer Zalora offered 80% discounts on November 11, as well as “upsized vouchers" and cashback opportunities through a "spin and win" feature.
[caption id="attachment_136205" align="aligncenter" width="725"]
Source: Zalora[/caption]
- Electronics
- Fortress, a Hong Kong consumer electronics retailer under AS Watson Group, offered 75% off certain items, and 50% discounts on the iPhone 12 Pro Max (256GB).
- Hong Kong department store AEON sold certain home goods/electronics items for $11 off with a purchase over $111. Some items also sold at discounted prices of $211, $311, $611, $711 and $1,111.
- Luxury and beauty
- Indian e-commerce company Nykaa offered discounts of up to 50% across selected brands, a “Buy Two, Get 20% Off” deal on beauty brand MAC Cosmetics, and a “Buy Two, Get One Free” deal on Estée Lauder products.
- Tata CliQ Luxury, an Indian luxury platform, offered up to 22% discounts on Paul Smith (a British fashion brand) products.
- In health and beauty, Mannings offered over 1,000 items at HK$11 ($1.40), and a discount of HK$111 ($14.25) for consumers using Payme to spend over HK$520 ($66.80).
- Health-and-beauty retailer Watsons offered buy-one-get-one-free offers, as well as other limited deals and discounts.
- Coupang, a South Korean e-commerce company, offered three-day special offers across various categories for 11.11.
[caption id="attachment_136206" align="aligncenter" width="725"]
Source: Coupang[/caption]
