Colin Lewis: Think Black Friday is big? It’s nothing compared to China’s Singles’ Day

When the clock struck midnight on 11 November, so began the world’s biggest shopping spree. Singles’ Day or, as its officially called, the Global Shopping Festival 11:11, is like combining the Olympics and the World Cup into one event for Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba. Think Boxing Day sales, mixed with Black Friday and add in a bit of Eurovision kitsch.
Singles’ Day started in the 1990s when young single people used it as an excuse to get together. Then in 1999 Alibaba co-o