Did you know? 11.11 started as a 'Singles' Day' for Chinese university students, not a sale

Every November, your phone starts buzzing nonstop: voucher alerts, midnight flash sales and "prices crashing" from heights nobody can quite remember. But here's the thing: 11.11 originally had nothing to do with sales. It started as a day for single people.

A joke among four single students in Nanjing

The most widely told version of the story begins in 1993 at Nanjing University in China. Four male students in a dorm reportedly agreed to make 11 November a day to celebrate being single. Think of it as an "anti-Valentine's Day".

Why 11/11? In Chinese slang, a single man is called a guānggùn (光棍), literally a "bare stick". The number 1 looks like a lone stick, so four 1s in a row are like four singles standing on their own. A little sad, but undeniably clever.

Through the 1990s, "Singles' Day" spread to other universities in Nanjing, and later to the wider public through the internet.

2009: a singles' holiday becomes a shopping day

In 2009, Alibaba ran a 24-hour online sale on the day through Taobao Mall (now known as Tmall). According to Alizila, Alibaba's official news site, the date was picked because it was easy to remember and fell during a lull in consumer spending between two holiday seasons.

It started small. Only 27 merchants took part in that first sale, which brought in around 50 million yuan. In 2012, Alibaba registered "双十一" (Double 11) as a trademark in China.

Did you know? From 50 million yuan in 2009, Alibaba's 11.11 figure shot up to 540.3 billion yuan (about USD84.5 billion) in 2021, more than 10,000 times bigger in 12 years. Then in 2022, for the first time, Alibaba did not disclose its total, saying only that results were "in line with" the previous year.

Some of the reported figures:

• 2019: 268.4 billion yuan (USD38.4 billion)
• 2020: 498.2 billion yuan (about USD75 billion), with a longer sales window
• 2021: 540.3 billion yuan, over an 11-day sales period

How 11.11 reached Malaysia

Lazada arrived in Malaysia in 2012. Its Online Revolution campaign first launched on 12 December 2012, then moved to 11 November from 2013, inspired by China's shopping festivals. In 2016, Alibaba raised its stake in Lazada to 83%, so the matching date is no coincidence.

Shopee adopted the same date and concept too. By 2017, Lazada Malaysia reported more than RM100 million in gross merchandise value on 11.11 alone. Ask any delivery rider: they know exactly when this season hits.

So why are there 9.9, 10.10 and 12.12 sales?

Because the formula works. Double dates are easy to remember, make neat hashtags, and give shoppers a clear "date night" with their wallets. Platforms in Southeast Asia now run double-date sales almost every month, building up to the year-end peak of 10.10, 11.11 and 12.12.

Some have their own backstory. Alibaba runs its own Double 12 on 12 December. Shopee is said to have kicked off the 9.9 sale in 2016, and uses 12.12 as its birthday sale.

Quick tips before you hit "Checkout"

• Add items to your wishlist early. Screenshot the price a few weeks before the sale so you can tell whether the discount is real.
• Don't take the crossed-out "original" price at face value. Compare it with the usual price before sale season, not with whatever number is printed.
• Work out the final total. Include shipping and voucher conditions (minimum spend, time limits).
• Compare a few shops or platforms for the same item.
• Set a budget. A 50% discount on something you don't need is still 100% wasted.

So this year, when you're staying up for the stroke of midnight on 11 November, spare a thought for four single students in Nanjing who never imagined their little joke would turn into a shopping festival this big.