History of 11.11

Singles' Day normally falls on November 11 because the date itself, 11/11 represents four ones, or four singles, standing together. The name directly translates as "single sticks holiday."

Although not officially recognized as a public holiday in China, 11.11 Singles' Day has cemented itself as one of the largest online shopping days in the world. The holiday became a major commercial sensation in China during the first decade of the 21st century when Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba offered deeply discounted merchandise on its platform for 24 hours, starting at midnight on Nov. 11, which was also a cynical response from Alibaba towards Valentine’s Day. Since then, 11.11 Singles' Day has become quite the scene in other countries in Asia besides China, similar to the States’ post-Thanksgiving Black Friday and Cyber Monday

In 2018, Alibaba clocked in USD$30.8 billion worth of sales across its online platforms on 11.11, achieving an annual growth rate of 27%. Alibaba’s sales in 2019 topped the previous year by a whopping 26%, amounting to USD$38.5 billion which surpassed Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales in the US combined! As if that wasn’t amazing enough, Taylor Swift headlined the event before the company shortly after garnered USD$1 billion within the first minute, and achieved USD$30 billion by afternoon during the Alibaba 11.11 Global Shopping Day.

Navigating the storm that is 11.11

They say finding your way through amazing sales such as the 11.11 Sale is like navigating through a storm. Whether the aforementioned statement was true or the fact that no one in all of human history has ever said that, you cannot deny that it will take planning to ensure you get the most of this sale! Here are some of the steps you can take to navigate through the 11.11 Sales

• The first step is to take a deep breath and map out your priorities when it comes to shopping. Are you looking to grab that handbag you’ve been eyeing on or you want to elevate your home entertainment system with a new Bose SoundLink. Planning out your purchases saves you the despair if you end up spending too much on clothes to not be able to afford a new iPhone or Saint Laurent bag.

• Next, determine which online retailer has the best discounts and offer better deals for the items you’re looking to purchase. A Razer Blade Gaming Laptop can be found on either Lazada or Shopee besides Razer’s own online store in which three of the platforms offer different kinds of deals. Remember, smart shoppers, know their prices and how to compare them! While both Lazada and Shopee occasionally carry vouchers or have generous discounts on certain products, you can also find deals available on their own dedicated websites that might have exclusive deals that can be found nowhere else.

• The third step requires you to be on your toes and leap for your desired items. If you know anything about limited-time offers, you would do well to know about the time limit or countdown until the sale commences. Remember how devastated some people were when they missed out on the release of Yeezys, Jordans, or those Supreme goods? The worst-case scenario would be the website crashing due to high traffic. Have a coffee, set an alarm, do whatever it takes to ensure you do not miss out on the things you really want! You will never know what you have until it's gone, but in this case, it will be the opportunity to savour that one purchase! 

How Saleduck does 11.11?

You can consider the Asian counterpart to the States’ Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM), if not the Asian version of what you would get if BFCM were to have a baby. One thing is for certain, you can expect participating retailers to put out their best products at the best possible prices. The prices can be so ridiculously amazing you would start to wonder if that Samsung 4K Smart TV you see on Shopee with that 65% discount is really real or if it’s all but a figment of your imagination.

These days, sales are a bit trickier to track as some start before Thanksgiving, and immediately calling their sales as “Black Friday Sale” or “Black Friday Is Here!” when it’s clearly a Tuesday. Thankfully this would not be an issue for us because it would be insane to have our most-anticipated 11.11 Sales to not fall on its own respective date! In some cases, a discount really is just a discount but a discount during 11.11 can pack a punch! 

While the list of suggestions on how and where to tackle the 11.11 sale might seem helpful, you still have to dedicate the time to carry out your due diligence in searching and filtering out promo codes you could use to ensure you take home the maximum amount of savings as possible. If you’re all about diving into the website of your favourite retailers head-on, you can save the time hunting for deals and discounts and let Saleduck do the heavy-lifting for you! Saleduck aims to help you get the most bang for your buck no matter how big or small the savings might be as every little saving helps especially during these trying times. As a bonus, Saleduck can also impart some order into the chaos that is your browser tabs situation which is totally normal when awesome deals and discounts are swirling about waiting for you to discover and savour them. 

Where You Can Score Some Of The Hottest Deals During The 11.11 Sale?

1. Lazada

Lazada SG is one if not the largest e-commerce platform in Singapore and in Southeast Asia. With presence across Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, the company has been pioneering e-commerce in the region since 2012 and currently offers an extensive list of products ranging from consumer electronics to household essentials and even fashion. You can find major brands such as Samsung, Bose, and more running their flagship stores on Lazada and more often than not they would have plenty of deals and discounts that are normally not available elsewhere!

2. Shopee

Going toe-to-toe against Lazada, Shopee is also one of the leading mobile e-commerce platforms in Southeast Asia, with humble beginnings as a consumer-to-consumer (C2C) platform before eventually evolving into a B2C marketplace dedicated to serving customers across the region. Similar to Lazada, you can also find flagship stores by established brands with regularly updated vouchers you can simply click on to claim. Shopee SG is also the place you can find hidden gems if you look hard enough. One such example is the skincare brand, CeraVe that has been blowing up everywhere thanks to the social media platform, TikTok. With many dermatologists and skinfluencers raving about CeraVe and how it changed the skin of many people for the better, CeraVe has been selling out all over North America and some parts of Europe. While it’s even more scarce in Singapore and the rest of Southeast Asia, you can find reputable Shopee sellers on the platform and get your CeraVe cleansers or moisturizers!

3. Zalora

Zalora is another recognized name in the e-commerce world and especially in online fashion shopping, carrying an ever-expanding line of local and international brands tailored for consumers in the region. On top of many local brands, Zalora has many major brands such as Superdry, Hugo Boss, and even luxury designer labels such as Givenchy, Balenciaga, and Saint Laurent, there is no shortage of options when it comes to fashion. Besides fashion, you can also shop for homeware and electronics on Zalora which gives you the flexibility of taking advantage of Zalora’s many promo codes to get discounts for both clothes and maybe a SMEG kettle or other appliances!

Top 3 Categories to Explore on 11.11

1. Electronics & Gadgets

In the past, the Lazada 11.11 was observed to have been offering amazing discounts on electronics spanning across many devices from TVs to smartphones up to 95% off! Grab that Smart TV, get that Philips blender, and then leave! The same can be said for the Shopee 11.11 Sale as well, with discounts stretching up to the high 90s on the latest Smart TV models, as well as high-specs LG, monitors that would surely be a major asset for your work-from-home setup! You can also find Apple occasionally carrying worthwhile discounts or their trade-in promotions.

Nobody said amazing deals and discounts are only native to Shopee and Lazada, in fact, you can even get major savings on laptops directly from their website such as Lenovo! HP also offers the occasional discount and promotions on its products albeit on a less mind-blowing scale than Lenovo but then again, a discount on a laptop is still an amazing purchase!

2. Fashion & Accessories

If your skills as a discount hunter are comparable to a truffle pig hunting for truffles, it will go without saying that Zalora would be one of the more generous retailers when it comes to providing promo codes on a regular basis. Zalora carries brands and styles that cater to a spectrum of fashion tastes, from low-maintenance fits to high-fashion ensembles. Besides clothes, you can also add a little zest to your wardrobe with its wide range of options in accessories and handbags!

If you have a more refined taste for fashion, Vestiare Collective is definitely the place for you as they seem to always have amazing sales going on (and no, we are not talking about 5% discounts). Enjoy discounts when you shop for clothes and bags from the likes of Gucci, Loewe, Brunello Cuccinelli, Thom Browne, and many other star-studded names! Getting that handbag that was sitting in your wish-list for ages at a discount would definitely make your hunt a more fulfilling experience!

3. Personal Care & Beauty

Money can’t buy happiness, but it does feel great managing your stress-levels after a long day pampering yourself with your skincare routine or by slapping on a sheet mask in front of your best friend, Netflix. What’s that smell? Is it the aroma of the Omorovicza Queen of Hungary Mist or the sweet smell of generous discounts that are both available on Lookfantastic. Besides Omorovicza, you can also shop for other luxury spa-worthy brands such as ESPA, Aesop, Korres, and more that are bound to soothe your senses. If you’re into skincare, you can reverse the clock on your skin with the added bonus of a discount code on anti-ageing products such as retinol-based products by Medik8, Murad, Skinceuticals, and more! Speaking of skincare, we all know how Korean beauty products are just way ahead of its time with their usage of ingredients such as niacinamide, snail mucin and ceramides long before most western beauty brands start incorporating those products into their formulations. If K-Beauty is more of your thing, signs point to Althea and Currentbody where sales and discounts are regularly being put out for you to enjoy your next favourite product.

One of the popular brands for beauty tools, Foreo is also obtainable on Lookfantastic with discounts, so you can buy vibrating silicone tools for yourself or all your friends... which are not what you think they are for, but to enhance the efficacy of your cleansing step as well as boosting circulation. If you are feeling bold, the esthetician-favourite microcurrent-based NuFace is also available on Lookfantastic. Owning a beauty tool that could tone and lift your face is amazing enough, but acquiring it with a discount makes it so much better of an investment!

Calm Before the 11.11 Storm

As with any other online activity, online shopping is also subjected to the usual natural laws of the Internet especially when it comes to the possibility of you being the target of hacking and other forms of cybercrime. Get ahead and shield yourself from being a hacker's meal ticket now and read our blog post about combatting cyberfraud and hacks to not get hacked to get all the right tips for you to shop securely.

Whether you are shopping online on your laptop, desktop, smartphone, tablet, or perhaps even on one of those Samsung smart refrigerators, be sure to stay protected with the Norton Antivirus now to avoid an even bigger mishap than a pulverized bank account!

While Covid-19 has permanently altered the way we operate and consume, retail therapy can help with easing stress and making you feel like your usual self again. The 11.11 Sale can be a potential gateway to senseless consumerism, but with planning and thought-out purchases, you can use the irresistible deals and discounts to make your guilty pleasure guilt-free!

Written by: Farhan Arif