What Is Singles' Day and Why It's Bigger than Black Friday

November is here, which means Black Friday is coming up! But while you’re busy going over that mile-long shopping list, did you know that a similar-like day in China has already become the world’s biggest online shopping spree?

It all started in the 1990s, when the Chinese society started seeing a surplus in the male population as the consequence of the one-child policy. Many believe that the origin was at Nanjing University, where a group of college boys would gather every night to talk about how to get rid of the single status.

Eventually, they decided to start an initiative that celebrates being single, choosing the 11th of November to be the Singles’ Day (or the “Double Eleven Day”) because of the number’s resemblance of single stick figures.

Then, there came the era of digital marketing, where companies and brands were looking for every way possible to maximize consumption.

The chairman of China’s biggest e-commerce company Alibaba Group, Jack Ma, who was listed by Forbes as one of the top 20 richest people in the world, wanted to launch a shopping promotion revolving around a day that was already nationally celebrated. Drawing inspirations from the American Black Friday tradition, Ma launched the first round of promotion on November 11th, 2009.

The company targeted single people in the country and catered to the mentality of “treating yourself better”, which would supposedly make up for the loneliness of staying single. It didn’t take long for other businesses to catch on.

In 2011, more than half a billion dollars was spent on Singles’ Day. Last year, the Chinese netizens topped their previous record with $24.2 billion spent on just that one day — which is practically equivalent to a smaller European country’s gross domestic product.

According to Bloomberg, “more than twice as much merchandise is sold over the 24-hour period than during the entire five-day U.S. holiday-buying spree” (from Black Friday through Cyber Monday). Last year, Alibaba even hosted an opening gala event for Singles’ Day, with guest appearances by top-tier celebrities such as Nicole Kidman, Scarlett Johansson, Jessie J and Pharrell Williams.

With more and more international brands offering massive deals and extensive options specifically for Singles’ Day, the celebration is not only for those who are single but has become a global phenomenon.

There has even been a new trend created in December — the “Double Twelve Day”, just so businesses would have another chance to benefit from another round of rapid consumption and e-commerce.

Shoot us a message at info@spotlightwest.ca or follow our social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) to find out more about Chinese social trends, or WeChat marketing tips!

The Sad Story Behind Chinese Valentine’s Day

As if there wasn’t already an online Valentine’s Day in China — set on the popular date of May 20th which sounds similar to “I love you” in Chinese — you may be surprised to find out there’s actually another day even more authentic when it comes to celebrating love in China.

Officially named “Chinese Valentine’s Day”, this special date falls on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, which is why it’s also called “Double Seventh Day” or “Qixi Festival”. This year, that happens to be August 17. Although it’s been around for more than 2,000 years, it wasn’t until recently that its popularity returned, thanks to the massive influence of global consumerism.

So what’s the story behind Chinese Valentine’s Day?

Legend has it there once was a cowherd named Niu Lang, who was a very kind-hearted young man, attending to his crops and taking good care of his cattles everyday. One day, a mysterious old man showed up, leading the cowherd to visit a sick cattle from heaven. After the cattle recovered due to the great care from the cowherd, it showed its gratitude by helping Niu Lang meet Zhi Nu, a weaver girl from heaven. They fell madly in love with each other.

Unfortunately, their time together didn’t last long. Just like every great love story, an obstacle came about — the Empress of heaven was furious to learn that one of her weaver girls had eloped with a human being. She decided to punish the couple by splitting them apart and creating a huge river between them, keeping them from seeing each other for eternity (in some stories, this is also considered the origin of the Milky Way Galaxy).

Absolutely devastated, the couple cried day and night. The Empress saw this, and decided to make an exception, allowing them to meet for one day every year on the seventh day of the seventh month.

Although the story is sad, the day is now celebrated much more positively by Chinese millennials. While not exactly used to showing affection as outwardly as Westerners, the Chinese are always looking for perfect opportunities to profess their love — whether it be May 20th, Singles Day, White Valentine’s Day, or the official Chinese Valentine’s Day. It’s less intimidating to ask small or big relationship-related questions on a special occasion, knowing that there are many others doing so on the same day!

Global brands and local businesses have joined the trend, showcasing products through campaigns that are targeted specifically for the Chinese Valentine’s Day. Luxury names such as Burberry, Dior, Bvlgari, Tiffany, and even athletic brands like Nike, have all launched their “Qixi” lines recently, each represented by a popular Chinese influencer or celebrity.

As for traditions, Chinese Valentine’s Day is unlike other more common festivals such as Spring Festival or the Mid-Autumn Festival: there aren’t any specific ones you have to follow. The more popular one for young couples would be to get married on the day  — which is more romantic than the actual Valentine’s Day or on an anniversary.

As this year’s Chinese Valentine’s Day arrives, you can hopefully take time to celebrate with your loved one as well — having now had a crash course on the special day!

Shoot us a message at info@spotlightwest.ca if you’re interested in learning more, or follow our social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) to find out more about Chinese social trends, or WeChat marketing tips!

And The Most Popular Emojis On Weibo and WeChat Are ...

Can you imagine life without emojis? Maybe a decade ago, it was much harder to imagine life WITH emojis, but now it has become a common part of our daily communication! According to Apple’s Differential Privacy published in 2017, the top 3 most-used emojis in the States are 😂, ❤️, and 😭 — with the first one a clear favourite.

               The Top 10 Most-Used Emojis in the United States

Vancouver Courier has just published a post today listing out the top 10 emojis that would best represent Vancouver. So how do these expressions fit in with other cultures, such as the Chinese community? Since it’s World Emoji Day, we want to celebrate by looking at the most popular emojis on Chinese social networks: Weibo and WeChat!

1. The Facepalm

The emojis might look different, but the emotions are universal. One of the most-used emojis on both Weibo and WeChat is the facepalm emoji, which is basically an upgrade version of the crying-laughing face. This emoji is a combination of the subtleness in Chinese culture and the implicit sense of humour at its finest — perfect for situations where you’re either extremely embarrassed or overwhelmingly dumbfounded.

2. The Shiba Inu

Another popular Weibo emoji comes from the doge meme that went viral in 2013, which was later named “Top Meme of the Year”. (Random fact: There was even a cryptocurrency, Dogecoin, based on the meme, and there was a Dogecoin convention in Vancouver this past June.) Chinese Millennials and Gen Z have become absolutely obsessed with using this emoji, so much so that you can’t even scroll down to the bottom of your Weibo homepage feed without seeing it at least several times. It expresses doubt or sarcasm with a touch of playfulness — just enough to hide the user’s true intentions to avoid serious confrontation. It’s even widely used by brands and official government accounts to gain more engagement and show their followers how competent they are at the game of social media.

3. The Shrug

Next on the list is an adaptation of the shrug emoji — with smaller dimensions, simplified facial features, and more exaggerated gesture — best used to let others know with a dramatic tone that you really don’t care about something.

4. The Peace Sign

Entering its seventh year, WeChat has become more of a professional communications tool where most etiquettes in workplaces also apply. People know most of their WeChat contacts in real life — whereas on Weibo, they most likely have never met the person they engage with. That’s why there are various WeChat emojis designed to make communications a little easier, much like this “peace sign” emoji below. Asians are well-known for putting up the two fingers, especially when getting their photos taken, so it comes as no surprise that WeChat designed an emoji specifically for that. Now, users can express joy and satisfaction in the cutest way possible.

5. The Smiley Face

Finally, the most important emoji of all is the one and only smiley face. This common original emoji has been used so much by WeChat users that it’s now morphed into something completely different than the original emotion it was designed for. When sent, it’s mostly used to convey that the person is annoyed, irritated, or even disgusted. In other words, you don’t want to be on the receiving end of this emoji when on Chinese social media platforms!

There you have it. Your Chinese friends will need to be careful when texting you next time, considering you have now cracked the ultimate social media code when it comes to emojis. Text away!

Stay tuned as we share more insights from the Asian Community and Chinese social trends on our #SpotOn blog, and make sure to follow us on our Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter!