Kathmandu. Singles’ Day is a holiday celebrated in China on November 11, as the date 11/11 consists of 4 ones or 4 singles, standing together. Decades ago, the day was also called “Anti-valentines day” as single bachelors gather and party together.

In recent years, China’s Singles’ Day has become the world’s biggest day for online shopping and internet commerce, which surpasses the combined sales of both Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Last year, about 1.9 billion products were ordered and delivered. This year, about 3 million workers along with 4,000 cargo planes and ships are transporting and delivering parcels in and out of China. The 24-hour event is showcasing over 350,000 local and international brands also, cars and houses.

Asia’s e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. reported that by Wednesday morning, it had already sold products worth USD 56 billion, including the first 30 minutes of the event, along with an earlier three-day duration that was added to increase post-pandemic sales. In last year’s event, Alibaba sold products worth USD 38 billion only.

However, Tuesday was Alibaba’s worst day as its stock shares dropped by 8.26 per cent when draft regulations were released by the Chinese State Administration for Market Regulation that could prohibit major internet platforms from monopolistic conduct.

According to Xiaofeng Wang, an analyst with the market research firm Forrester, “China’s economy has seen a good recovery and the purchasing behavior of Chinese consumers has already returned to pre-pandemic levels, if not higher.”

As per a survey by Oliver Wyman, a market research company, 86% of the Chinese customers are likely to spend the same or more than they did during Single’s Day last year. Whereas, the remaining 14% were struck by the pandemic, due to which they will spend very less.