The Double Eleven Shopping Festival is a product of China's rapidly developing commodity economy. November 11th was originally known as "Singles' Day" or "Bachelor's Day." The four consecutive "1s" in the date were seen as symbolizing solitude, and it was humorously regarded as a holiday for single people. In 2009, an e-commerce platform, aiming to revitalize its business and capitalize on a market gap, used the "Singles' Day" concept as a creative hook. It partnered with just 27 merchants to trial a half-price promotion, unexpectedly generating 52 million yuan in sales. This planted the seed for the shopping frenzy. [1]

Since then, on every November 11th, platforms and merchants have employed various tactics like coupons, spend-to-save offers, and discounts to stimulate consumption and encourage purchases. Over time, November 11th has become universally recognized across the country as the "shopping carnival." The festival's sales have expanded dramatically: soaring to 936 million yuan in 2010, breaking the 10-billion-yuan threshold in 2012, and reaching a scale of hundreds of billions of yuan for a single day on major platforms by 2021.By 2025, the festival marked its seventeenth year. According to third-party monitoring data, the total online sales across all platforms climbed to approximately 1.7 trillion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 14.2%. [2]

During Double Eleven, people carefully calculate discounts and bundle deals to promptly purchase items that seem "essential." In livestream shopping rooms, hosts speak rapidly, urgently promoting products and urging viewers to place orders. Every act of consumption is encouraged—not spending feels like missing out on a major opportunity. People are continually swept into this frenzy, as if paddling upstream: if you’re not moving forward, you’re falling behind.

From another perspective, it’s understandable—we often need a reason to justify our spending. In the past, it was holidays or anniversary sales; now we’ve simply found a new pretext, turning shopping from an individual act into a collective ritual. Behind this collective consumer behavior lies an entire social mechanism: the rise of online shopping, advances in logistics, encouragement from government policies, and people’s pursuit of material comfort, all pushing the era further into the trap of consumerism. Yet few pause to ask: "Do I really need this item?"

Today, Double Eleven has evolved far beyond an economic phenomenon—it has gradually become a social and even cultural phenomenon. On one hand, it genuinely stimulates consumption, revitalizes the logistics industry, and allows many businesses to earn substantial profits. On the other hand, it has quietly changed the way we relate to material goods and to life itself. Many have grown accustomed to stockpiling during Double Eleven, turning daily living into warehouse management. Others feel regret after buying, staring at piles of non-essential items and consoling themselves with the thought, "At least it was cheap." More importantly, this concentrated burst of consumption reflects a subtle undercurrent of insecurity within us—the fear of missing out, the fear of having less than others, the fear of being left behind in the tide of materialism. Double Eleven acts like a magnifying glass, revealing both the abundance of our times and the anxiety beneath that abundance. Perhaps the real question isn’t whether to buy or not, but whether we can still remember what we truly need and value amid the consumer frenzy—and not let a digital holiday define the rhythm of our real lives.

[1] https://www.dzwww.com/xinwen/shehuixinwen/202510/t20251022_16624612.htm

[2] Yuan Zan. "Slowdown in Double Eleven Growth Rate Reflects Market Maturation and Transformation." China Market Regulation News, November 28, 2025, page 3.