You may not have been aware that last Wednesday US$74 billion was spent on online shopping in China. It was 11 November, ‘Singles Day’ or (previously) ‘Bachelors Day‘s. The idea was launched in 1993 by students of Nanjing University to celebrate the fact they were single, and likely to remain so.
All the single digits in 11th of 11th stand for single people and the ’singles’ bought presents for each other. Soon it became National Shopping Day with huge discounts in prices and the rest is history.
This year most people opted for 5G technology devices but there were also a few unusual items at greatly reduced prices.
You could buy a shrunken skull (originally meant for medical students to practice on) for E5. It made an unforgettable present.
For 3 to 6 Euro you could get a ‘Jar of Sunlight’ –it has a solar battery on the lid.
Five live leeches for E4 is a good bargain, they can be raised as pets or used medically.
A fortune teller will bring you good news for a very reasonable price. One person said, ‘I don’t care if he is correct, I just want to calm myself during this difficult time.’
You can have noodles with your name on them for E3.
Most of the sales were on Alibaba, the Amazon of China which had two million new items on its ‘digital shelf’, double last year’s. They warm up their customers the night before with an extravagant TV gala featuring international stars.
‘Singles Day’ is not a national holiday in China yet but I’m sure it will be soon and the rest of the world will be quick to jump on the delivery waggon.