China's 'Singles' Day' shopping festival a gauge of Beijing's effort to
get consumers to spend more
[November 11, 2025] By
CHAN HO-HIM
HONG KONG (AP) — Alice Zhang, a 29-year-old marketer in the
southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, has spent only roughly half what she
did last year during the “Singles' Day” online shopping festival,
switching to cheaper choices and giving up on buying new shoes after pay
was cut by more than 20%.
That's typical, analysts say, of the trend for the extended discount
campaign that is China's equivalent to Black Friday sales, initiated by
China’s Alibaba in 2009 as a 1-day event on Nov. 11 -- Double 11 in
Chinese parlance, and considered a symbol of unattached singles.
“I’ve made a conscious effort to cut back,” said Zhang, who spent around
3,000 yuan ($421) this year.
Singles’ Day spending is closely watched by observers and economists as
an indicator for the wider economy. This year, the sales period began as
early as Oct. 9, several days earlier than in 2024, and will finish this
week.
Chinese retail data provider Syntun said that as of Oct. 31, the
combined gross value for this year’s Singles’ Day had topped 1 trillion
yuan ($140 billion). In 2024, it estimated sales rose about 26%
year-on-year to 1.44 trillion yuan.
It remains to be seen if the appetite for spending may finally be
recovering after the pandemic and a prolonged downturn in the property
market.
Boosting domestic demand such as consumer spending and business
investment is a top priority for the ruling Communist Party.
Economists and analysts say spending on big ticket items remains
downbeat as value-minded shoppers focus on necessities and more
affordable goods.
“Confidence remains quite downbeat among households,” said Lynn Song,
chief economist for Greater China at ING Bank.
The early launch for this year’s festival partly reflects the desire of
the online retailers that are its main organizers to compensate for
weakness in the consumer economy, said Shaun Rein, managing director at
China Market Research Group.
“It’s an attempt by (major Chinese e-commerce) players like Alibaba and
JD.com to drum up business,” he said. “But it’s not going to be easy.”
“A lot of people have been complaining that the discounts (this year)
are not very strong,” said Yaling Jiang, an independent Chinese consumer
analyst, adding that she observed a stronger sense of “consumer
fatigue.”
Many Chinese consumers are hesitant to spend big.
“Apart from daily necessities, I don’t need to buy any big items,” said
Zhang Shijun, a 45-year-old Beijing-based staffer at a vocational
training institution. “I (do) still need to buy some clothes for my
family, because winter is coming.”
Sonia Song, a freelance media worker who also lives in Guangzhou, is
among many who suspect retailers hike their prices to exaggerate the
discounts they offer during the Singles’ Day sales.
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People walk by an advertisement billboard promoting Tmall's Singles'
Day sale at a popular shopping district in Beijing on Nov. 10, 2025.
(AP Photo/Andy Wong)
 She puts way more effort into
researching apparent bargains than she used to, watching
livestreaming platforms like Douyin and Xiaohongshu to compare
prices with other e-commerce platforms like Taobao or JD.com.
“I’ll only buy what’s cheapest or most
cost-effective now,” said Song.
Also reducing the appeal of Singles' Day discounts, the Chinese
government has been paying rebates to people who trade in home
appliances and vehicles to buy new ones.
“The logic is fairly simple. For example, if you bought a new
washing machine earlier in the year at a discount, further
discounts, no matter how steep, are not likely to attract new
purchases,” said ING’s Song.
As is true for many other industries in China, the e-commerce giants
are looking to expand online sales in other countries, the
consultancy Bain & Company said in a report last month. Alibaba-owned
Taobao is running simultaneous Singles’ Day promotions in 20
countries, a “noteworthy expansion” of previous cross-border selling
efforts, it said.
Now that U.S. has ended its “de minimis” tariff exemption for small
shipments, hurting sales by retailers like Shein and Temu, Chinese
companies are focusing more on Southeast Asian markets such as
Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.
For those who are able and willing to splash out, “look good, feel
good” items such as beauty and health-related products will likely
outperform this year, said Jacob Cooke, CEO of consultancy WPIC
Marketing + Technologies.
Gao Liang, who works at a fitness and swimming club in Beijing, used
to spend about 3,000 yuan to 5,000 yuan a year on Singles' Day
orders of food, clothes and other items. That was before seeing his
income fall 20% this year.
“Our business hasn’t been doing well these years because we’ve seen
fewer customers, and perhaps they’ve cut their spending on fitness
and swimming,” said Gao, who said he might get some clothes and
shoes he needs if he finds good bargains.
“I don't think I will spend that much this year,” Gao said. “Given
my unstable income, I don't need to hoard things.”
___
AP researchers Shihuan Chen and Yu Bing contributed from Beijing.
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