The Impulso Podcast E104: 11.11 Singles' Day: the backstory
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Dec 20, 2024 Discover the origins of 11.11 Singles' Day, started by four university students as a tongue-in-cheek celebration. Learn how Alibaba transformed it into a massive shopping extravaganza in 2009, overcoming early infrastructural failures. Delve into the reasons behind the decline in GMV reporting and the festival's expansion into weeks. Explore whether frequent sales have led to 'sale fatigue' among consumers, and hear insights on how retailers can adapt to remain relevant in the evolving e-commerce landscape.
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Dormroom Origin Story
- 11.11 began in 1993 at Nanjing University when four single students created a day to celebrate singlehood.
- The campus movement grew with posters and memes long before e-commerce adopted the date.
A Scrappy First Year
- Alibaba's first 11.11 in 2009 hit RMB 50 million in GMV and the team celebrated late into the night.
- The launch was scrappy: the website crashed under unexpected traffic during the first hours.
GMV's Declining Signal
- GMV was once a headline growth metric that rallied ecosystems but its signal weakens as growth slows.
- Skepticism about what counts as GMV also reduced its usefulness as a clear economic barometer.