Why they’re not the world’s biggest online retail sales events
Last year, $1.97 billion was spent online over Thanksgiving and Black Friday – up over 18.5% from 2012. (Source: TechCrunch)
HOWEVER…
Impressive as this sounds, these figures are dwarfed compared to Singles’ Day in China. Singles’ Day is the world’s biggest online retail sales day and takes places on Nov 11.
Last year online sales reached $8.2 billion within a 24-hour period. This year, the annual shopping bonanza smashed all records. Alibaba alone hit $9.3 billion, more than the total sales for last year! That’s also more than the combined online revenue from last year’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the top two shopping holidays here in the U.S.
Known locally as “bare sticks holiday”, Singles Day began in the 1990s, when university students started to celebrate their single status on November 11. It was considered almost a joke, a sad singles day even a sort of anti-Valentine’s Day. Since the 90s, it has gone on to become a massive day of sales for China’s fast growing e-commerce market. In a bid to increase sales in the lull between China’s Golden Week national holiday in October and the Christmas season, Alibaba started to offer deals on its online shopping platforms, touting the day as an excuse for self-gifting and personal indulgence. This year’s Singles’ Day online sales event has attracted the participation of more than 27,000 global brands, including Japanese label Muji, Spanish clothing retailer Desigual and American outdoor clothing label The North Face.
The online market is expected to grow at an annual rate of 25% over the next few years, from $390bn in 2014 to $718bn in 2017, according to a recent study released by management consulting firm AT Kearney.
Source: BBC News, CNN Money and PayPal Inc.
AND IT DOESN’T STOP THERE…
Boxing Day – UK, Australia and Canada
- 9.8 million people shopped
- £2.7 billion ($4.2 billion) was spent
- 17 million hours spent shopping online with 129 million visits to retail sites
- 15% year-on-year increase, making Boxing Day the biggest online shopping day ever in the UK (£540 million online / $848 million)
- Data from Experian Hitwise shows that Boxing Day 2013 was the biggest and busiest day ever for online retailers in the UK.
- A majority of Boxing Day traffic to UK retail websites came from mobile devices, according to IBM. But while tablets drove sales, smartphones proved to be the most popular device for browsing.
- The IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark reveals that on Thursday 26 December online sales increased by 40.4% compared to Boxing Day 2012. (Source: David Moth @ Econsultancy)
Dia dos Namorados in Brasil (Lover’s Day)
Dia dos Namorados is celebrated on June 12 as a holiday for lovers in Brazil. It is celebrated in a manner similar to Valentine’s Day and it’s the third largest source of revenue collected over one day in Brasil. Brazilian cross-border online shopping is due to grow 546% in next four years, with a 2018 projections of US $8.4 billion.
The US is the main market for Brazilian goods bought online, having imported US $425 million last year, followed by China (US$ 200 million) (Source: PayPal Inc.)
How Atlantric Can Help
Trading across borders can lead to significant increases in sales. Just think, you could discover a whole new customer base that you never knew existed. We specialize in getting North American companies into new international markets and assist with the expansion of current markets. We can help you with traditional global commerce barriers such as market dynamics, distribution, shipping, compliance, customs, local traditions and more. Get in touch soon and let’s get growing.
You need to seize the opportunity presented by
international holidays and prime sales seasons.
Remember, 96% of all consumers live outside the U.S.