Are you crazy about getting a good deal? Do you love when stores offer 20% off everything or half price throughout the store ? If you can answer yes to these questions, then you will love Singles Day. As the name suggests, the day is a celebration of all singles. But the day also offers much more than that. It is also a day when there is an opportunity to make a bargain. A day when you have the chance to acquire what you might not be able to afford on any other day of the year. Does that sound like something to you?

You probably know Black Friday, the day after the American holiday , Thanksgiving. Many Danes are now doing their Christmas gift shopping on this very day. Cyber ​​Monday has gradually become a phenomenon that many people are familiar with – namely a kind of online Black Friday, and then on a Monday. So what is SinglesDay actually? It is a new big shopping day that first came to Denmark in 2017. This new big day, with the opportunity to get good discounts, is on 11/11. Very symbolically, this date was chosen to show the individualism of the number 1. Meanwhile, the number 11 shows how two individuals come together and can become a unit.

What is Singles Day?

Back in the 1990s, the Chinese invented a new holiday that was initially supposed to celebrate and pamper the country’s singles. The date for Singles Day is always 11/11, which is no coincidence. In China, this specific date was chosen because the many ones were supposed to symbolize the individual who was alone. SinglesDay was originally a kind of anti-Valentine’s Day campaign that allowed singles to treat themselves to the products and things they had been dreaming of. You can roughly compare this annual event to Black Friday, however, this new version has started to overtake it.

Video: learn more about Singles Day (English)

On this day, many stores will create some fantastic offers that entice consumers to come out of hiding and spend money on themselves. However, you can safely do this without getting squinty looks sent your way, as this day is now also gaining ground in Denmark. However, we here at home cannot yet keep up with China, which in 2017 spent more than 20 trillion US dollars alone on this date. In China, however, this eventful anniversary is no longer just for singles, but also a coveted date for weddings, where one person becomes two.

Singles Day is full of symbolic meanings

As previously mentioned, this date is becoming increasingly popular and used for weddings, this is not a coincidence or a rebellion against the concept. On the contrary, this is driven by the symbolism found in the numbers. As previously mentioned, the number one in the date can symbolize an individual who likes to be alone. The number 11 is therefore a symbol of two individuals who come together and enjoy life and each other. The combination of 2 x 11 in the date 11/11 is a possible symbol for two couples enjoying each other’s company, which originates from the original Chinese celebrations.

How to celebrate Singles Day in Denmark

Despite the fact that this anniversary has been known and widely used in China for almost 20 years, it is relatively new in Denmark. Not many people know about this date – however, this is expected to change drastically from 2018. This year, many larger companies are jumping on the bandwagon and using this opportunity as another alternative to the well-known Black Friday, with good discounts, cheap prices and lots of offers for everyone. However, in Denmark, the same vibe around the singles concept as you see in China has not yet emerged.

As with all other big trading days in Denmark, you have to start somewhere, it is often the larger groups that start a new trend, or jump on board a foreign one. After that, it is only natural that other smaller companies will follow suit with their own versions of this special day. You can safely put a cross in your calendar, because on the ‘baker’s birthday’ on 11/11, things really get going here in Denmark. More and more companies are reaching out to their customers about offers and special discounts that only apply to this one day – the so-called one-day offers.

Danes love discounts

SinglesDay is a phenomenon that originated in China and is known here as Guanggun Jie. The day originally started as a tribute to singles. On the day there was the opportunity to participate in countless parties in order to meet other singles and fall in love. A tribute to single culture with an exaggerated message of being proud to be single. Since then, the day has developed into a big shopping day, which has now reached Denmark. Forecasts also predict that this day could become as big as BlackFriday in a few years.

What is it really about Danes and deals? With new deals, both on the internet, via apps and in physical stores, it is inevitable that you will come into contact with discounts every day. Yet studies show that Danes want even more deals. Other studies show that Danes spend an average of 1/3 of their household budget on bargains. And it even turns out that Danish consumers are the ones who receive the most deals leaflets worldwide. It therefore does not seem entirely unlikely that SinglesDay could become a huge shopping day in the future, just like the American-adopted ones. Because Danes just love discounts.

Ready. Set. SinglesDay!

Even though SinglesDay is not yet as widespread as some of the other shopping days we know from the USA, take note of it. Because it could mean that in the future you will have even greater opportunities to combine, for example, Christmas gift shopping with discounts. It might even mean that it is not necessary to stand in countless hour-long queues in just one day to get the good deals. With the arrival of the new shopping day, you can now “spread out” the waiting times so that it does not seem so bad. And who wouldn’t want that?