In recent years, the online buzz around Singles Day has been getting bigger and bigger. Keeping informed about the latest trends is an important part of your business's success. This guide tells you all you need to know about the so-called "Global Shopping Event" plus tips on how to get involved this year...

What is Singles Day?

Singles Day is a modern day phenomenon which was created in China by Alibaba back in 2009. Since then, it has taken the online sales world by storm. Singles Day falls every year on 11/11 and was originally intended as an anti Valentine's Day celebration. Although prominently a Chinese sales holiday, the trend is becoming increasingly more global, as more and more businesses are getting involved.

Why should I start a campaign?

Singles Day is a rising trend and over the last few years, online sales have skyrocketed. In 2018, Mckinsey reported that Singles Day sales made three times more than Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined. This is huge. However, as it's all still new, there is much less pressure and expectation. Businesses looking to get involved can get creative and be flexible with campaigns.

In addition, the timing is also perfect. The holiday falls in November; meaning you have the chance to integrate your campaigns with other end of year promotions your business has planned.

Which brands have been involved?

Apart from major Chinese retailers such as Alibaba, Lightinthebox and Tmall, a large number of businesses based outside of China have also recognised the potential of the holiday and started promotions and campaigns of their own. Here are some familiar brands and examples of what they decided to do to celebrate Singles Day with their customers...

H&M

In recent years, H&M have jumped on the Singles Day bandwagon with bold promotions such as this one.

Michael Kors

Back in 2016 Michael Kors launched an exclusive casino-themed campaign to build up to the big day and get shoppers excited.

Puma

Puma got involved by launching a gift guide and special 20% discount.

Charlotte Tilbury

Charlotte Tilbury launched a glamorous self-love campaign to celebrate the big event and promote her lipsticks.

Lancome Paris

Lancome Paris also joined in with the shopping trend and offered a cool 20% off along with exclusive, free sample products.

Kipling

Kipling were also bang on trend with this bold campaign encouraging customers to spend more.

5 tips for starting a Singles Day marketing campaign

Don't worry if you're thinking this is all unfamiliar territory. In general, there's not too much that you need to do differently to any other seasonal sales campaign. However, to help you get off to a flying start, here are 5 useful tips to bear in mind:

Think digital

Firstly, it's a good idea to make sure your campaigns are optimised for a younger, more digital audience. Singles Day is really popular with young people in China and is now becoming increasingly popular in other countries.

The previously mentioned study from McKinsey also revealed that, in 2018, more than 90% of Singles Day purchases were carried out via a mobile device. To put this into context, Cyber Monday saw mobile sales of around 35% last year. These stats really emphasise the importance of creating a mobile responsive design.

Optimise your email campaign for mobile devices to make it more suitable for your target audience.

Bearing in mind that Singles Day is a massive online event, you should also consider creating a social media campaign to run alongside your email promotion. Getting involved with the Singles Day hype on social media is a great way to give your business more visibility and spread awareness of your campaign.

Try using platforms like Twitter and Instagram to promote special offers. Remember to use the relevant hashtags to generate more buzz around your sale.

Michael Kors gained a lot of attention with this fun, eye-catching tweet from a few years back:

Use social media to get digital and promote your Singles Day campaign to your target audience.

Use the number 11

Singles Day or Double 11 takes place on 11/11 each year. This date was chosen due to the reoccurrence of the number 1, which in China, represents being single. Because the number 11 is important to the meaning of the holiday, you should try integrating it into your campaign.

In this example, Smashbox really emphasises the number 11 by offering customers $11 off. The big, bold numbers also stand out and grab readers's attention straight away:

Emphasise the number 11 in your campaigns to play on the meaning behind the shopping event.

Make your design festive

As Singles Day falls right before the holiday season, it gives you the perfect chance to get your customers feeling festive.

Incorporate traditional festive design elements such as red tones, glittery designs and targeted imagery to start introducing the holiday shopping theme. Your Singles Day email campaign is a great opportunity to kick off your main holiday promotions.

This email by Clarins actually looks just like a Christmas email design. Using bold reds is a good way to gain attention and also gets customers in the festive shopping mood:

Make your designs festive to gradually introduce the holiday shopping theme to customers.

Build up a sense of urgency

Like Black Friday, one of the biggest characteristics of Singles Day is that it is just one day. Make this clear in your campaign to really build up a sense of urgency to help increase sales. Creating FOMO (fear of missing out) will help you draw in more customers who don't want to miss your great, time-sensitive deals.

Armani Exchange makes it clear in this email that their exclusive 40% off promotion is only available on the day:

Singles Day is just one day. Make this clear in your campaign to help generate a sense of urgency.

Incorporate relevant themes

Singles Day is strongly connected to the "treat yourself" mentality (as seen in the Michael Kors tweet.) The holiday traditionally targets young, single consumers with disposable income. Businesses use flashy offers to tempt customers into making a spontaneous purchase and treating themselves.

This email from Philosophy goes all out in incorporating the "treat yourself" theme and also offers a tempting 30% discount to help persuade readers further. The gold and glittery design is also super festive:

Use your campaign to reenforce the idea that it's ok to treat yourself every now and again. This will encourage customers to spend more.

Key takeaways

• An important new event for your marketing calendar: Outside of China, Singles Day is a relatively new trend but it is on the rise and gaining popularity with big brands worldwide.
• Think digital: Optimise your email campaigns for mobile and utilise social media to spread awareness.
• Stay on trend: Incorporate relevant themes like self love and treating yourself to connect better with your target audience

Creating awesome sales email templates in Mail Designer 365

We hope you will consider adding Singles Day to your email marketing calendar. With these useful tips and a great email design, you'll have no trouble launching tempting Singles Day promotions to help kick off your holiday marketing.

In need of some more inspiration? Mail Designer 365 offers a diverse collection of sales email templates - perfect for a seasonal promotion or exciting Singles Day email campaign:

You can try out all of these tips and Design Ideas in Mail Designer 365. Download the app for free today and see what you can create.