How Singles’ Day could become New Zealand’s next shopping extravaganza

Singles' Day, also known as Double Eleven, has become one of China's biggest shopping extravaganzas of the year.

In New Zealand, however, things are a little different in the days leading up to 11 November.

Domestic consumers typically wait for Black Friday sales in late November to make a head-start on their Christmas shopping, largely ignoring bargains that were on offer just a couple of weeks earlier in the month.

Only 35 percent of New Zealand respondents were aware of Singles' Day in 2023, according to price comparison website PriceSpy, an increase of 5 percent from a year earlier.

Liisa Matinvesi-Bassett, New Zealand country manager for PriceSpy, said the popularity of Singles' Day trailed Black Friday and Boxing Day.

"While our data shows an uptick in purchase interest on November 11, it's still not on par with Black Friday or Boxing Day," Matinvesi-Bassett said.

"One reason could be the early start to Black Friday sales, with many offers launching a week ahead and 'Black Week' becoming more of a norm in New Zealand."

Carolyn Young, chief executive of Retail NZ, agreed.

"It's a unique promotion that started overseas and hasn't really taken hold here in New Zealand yet," Young said.

Singles' Day began as an anti-Valentine's Day movement embraced by university students in China in the 1990s.

The date was chosen to represent "single sticks" or "bare sticks" - Chinese slang for bachelors.

Unattached individuals celebrated the day by indulging in gifts and treats for themselves.

However, retail outlets in China saw an opportunity to boost sales and began offering special discounts on the day.

In 2009, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba launched major discounts on 11 November to help drive sales during a typically sluggish period.

Since then, Singles' Day has snowballed into a mega-shopping event in China and beyond.

Alibaba has claimed that sales on the day routinely eclipses sales on Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined.

China's Singles' Day shopping festival kicked off earlier this year, starting in mid-October.

Major e-commerce platforms such as Alibaba's Taobao and Tmall, along with JD.com, launched early promotions to give consumers more time to shop, allow merchants to better prepare and ease demand on logistics providers.

According to data compiled by Alibaba, sales exceeding 100 million yuan (around $23 million) have been spent on more than 280 brands on its Taobao and Tmall platforms as of 24 October this year.

In New Zealand, only a few large retailers and companies have offered Singles' Day promotions for the occasion.

The Warehouse has celebrated the annual event for several years, said Hannah Russell, general manager of online experience at the retail giant.

Russell said November was a crucial month for savvy shoppers, with both Singles' Day and Black Friday offering major sales events.

"We know Kiwis love hunting for great value," Russell said.

"A third of the people we spoke to this year said they're holding out for the big November sales to do their Christmas shopping."

In the South Island, some tourism operators saw Singles' Day sales as an opportunity to attract Chinese visitors ahead of the summer season.

Kathy Yang, business development manager for Asia at Fox Glacier Guiding, said the company had offered Singles' Day specials for a few years.

A surprising number of orders had already been placed for 2025 on the back of Singles' Day sales, she said.

"The Chinese market is one of our key markets, and we're committed to respecting and adapting to their consumer behavior," Yang said.

"We've observed strong sales growth following our Double 11 promotions, and we've even started receiving bookings for Chinese New Year 2025."

Yang said New Zealand's tourism season was already in full swing, and Singles' Day fell conveniently between China's Golden Week in October and the Lunar New Year holiday in February.

The timing, she said, created an ideal opportunity for Chinese visitors to enjoy substantial savings.

Yang said Singles' Day had the potential to grow in popularity in New Zealand as Chinese visitor numbers increased.

Dave Beeche, chief executive of tourism company RealNZ, agreed.

"We're offering 15 percent off our Doubtful Sound and Milford Sound day cruises this year for Double Eleven, inviting Chinese guests to explore these stunning Kiwi landscapes," Beeche said.

"The Chinese market is very important to us, so we've run Singles' Day promotions in the past, including last year and before Covid.

"The initiative is to cater for the needs of Chinese guests, so they can experience some of the most beautiful spots in New Zealand."

Beeche said the Chinese shopping phenomenon had been gaining traction, with more Kiwi companies incorporating Singles' Day sales in their summer promotion plans.

Young of Retail NZ said retailers were constantly seeking opportunities to promote their goods and attract more customers, especially as sale figures fall and profit margins tighten.

She said New Zealand consumers have become more price sensitive as confidence wanes.

"The data that's coming out of Visa and MasterCard tells us that the average sale price (in retail) is lower than what it has been in the past," Young said.

"Customers are much more concerned about how much they're spending and looking for that smaller item that still enables them to buy.

"It's often being referred to as the lipstick effect. You might not be able to buy a full outfit that you might have bought previously, but you might end up just buying a necklace, a pair of shoes or something like that rather than buying a full outfit."

Young said domestic consumers had become more discerning with their spending, choosing to buy only when they could afford it.

Gavin Male, chief executive of price comparison website PriceMe, said many consumers compared prices before making a purchase.

"We've probably seen less people shopping in total, and they are definitely comparing more prices and monitoring prices from different retailers," Male said. "If people are buying a big-ticket item, they are definitely doing research before making a purchase."

Katy Zhou, a consultant at an Auckland education agency, said shopping on Singles' Day had become something of an annual tradition for her.

Zhou has spent about 1,000 Chinese yuan (around NZ$235) on goods from China's e-commerce platform Taobao this year, purchasing a variety of small decorations and gifts for Christmas.

Zhou, who has lived in New Zealand for about a decade, said Black Friday and Boxing Day had traditionally offered the best deals for shoppers.

She hoped Singles' Day would eventually surpass both annual events.

"If there were Double Eleven here with big discounts, I'd definitely be willing to spend my money locally," she said.

Male of PriceMe was confident Singles' Day would ultimately become as popular as Black Friday and Boxing Day in New Zealand, given the country's increasingly diverse population.

"There's more immigration (to New Zealand)," he said. "There are more Chinese ... and, just like you see trends and changes within the population, those sorts of bits that are good from other cultures and other countries come in and people start to adopt them."