Singles’ Day could expand holiday shopping season

TORONTO • As Canadians vied for deep discounts this Black Friday, their beloved shopping holiday is facing a competitor of its own.

Weeks before North American retailers even announced their Black Friday deals, Singles’ Day was creeping into Canada and laying the groundwork to one day rival Black Friday and lengthen the holiday shopping season.

Singles’ Day — a holiday started in China centred around Nov. 11 that dates back to the 1990s by Nanjing University students rebelling against Valentine’s Day, but has since been co-opted by commercialism and is sometimes expanded to last a whole month — garnered enough crowds and clicks across the globe this year to be declared the biggest shopping day of the year internationally.

It netted Chinese e-commerce behemoth Alibaba more than US$30.8 billion this year alone.

Among the companies that got in on the Singles Day action in Canada were Aldo, which offered 11 per cent off all in-store and online purchases and advertised the deal as “no strings attached” and Ontario-based food delivery service and ecommerce platform Chanmao Inc., which waived delivery fees.

Canadian retailers have been slow to dabble in the holiday, but will likely awaken to its potential soon and use it to lengthen the holiday sales period that generally begins with Black Friday, experts said.

Steve Tissenbaum, a Ryerson University professor with expertise in the retail sector, said he has noticed retailers trying to push consumers to shop earlier in the year and he believes brands could use Singles’ Day to achieve that.

“I don’t see why people wouldn’t embrace it,” he said, though he pointed out it was the same day as Remembrance Day.