Singles' Day 2026: 11.11 Sale Dates, Alibaba and JD Plans
Singles' Day falls on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, but Tmall, Taobao and JD.com sales started in October. Here are the official dates, what is new this year, past sales figures and how 11.11 went global.
- Singles' Day 2026 is Wednesday, November 11; Tmall and Taobao opened their main sale at 8 p.m. China time (12:00 UTC) on October 20, and JD.com started on October 12.
- Alibaba expects a record one million brands and over 70 million products, with Qwen AI shopping tools and 88VIP member coupons.
- Alibaba last reported a total in 2021 (RMB540.3 billion); Syntun estimated 2025 sales across all platforms at 1.695 trillion yuan ($238.3 billion).
Singles' Day 2026 falls on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, but China's biggest online sale is already under way. Alibaba's Tmall and Taobao opened their main 11.11 sale at 8 p.m. China time on Tuesday, October 20 (12:00 UTC), after pre-sales began on October 15. JD.com started its promotion on Monday, October 12.
The final day, November 11, begins at midnight China time, which is 16:00 UTC (4 p.m. GMT) and 11 a.m. ET on November 10, 9:30 p.m. IST on November 10 and 3 a.m. AEDT on November 11. Here is what the companies have officially announced as of October 27, 2026, how big the event has been in past years and how it has spread beyond China. We do not list individual deals or prices.
What is Singles' Day?
Singles' Day, also called Double 11 or 11.11, is an annual shopping festival held on November 11. The date was chosen for its four ones, and the event grew out of a trend among young single people buying gifts for themselves, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) explains. SCMP is owned by Alibaba.
Alibaba launched the sale in 2009 to lift online sales in a slow month. According to Alizila, Alibaba's own news site, that first event was a five-hour promotion with 27 merchants that generated more than RMB50 million (about $8 million at the time). By 2012, Alizila says, 11.11 had overtaken Amazon's Cyber Monday as the largest online shopping event in the world measured by goods sold in 24 hours.
Today the festival runs for weeks across almost every big Chinese shopping platform, including Alibaba's Taobao and Tmall, JD.com and ByteDance's Douyin. Analysts treat it as a barometer of Chinese consumer spending.
Singles' Day 2026 sale dates
These are the dates the platforms have announced. All times are China Standard Time (UTC+8).
- JD.com: promotions began on Monday, October 12, SCMP reported. JD said first-day buyer numbers grew by double digits from a year earlier.
- Tmall and Taobao pre-sales: opened on Thursday, October 15, according to Alibaba's official announcement.
- Tmall and Taobao main sale: began at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, October 20 (12:00 UTC, 8 a.m. ET, 5:30 p.m. IST).
- Douyin: its Good Things Festival runs from October 15 to November 11, BigGo Finance reported.
- Singles' Day itself: Wednesday, November 11.
Neither Alibaba nor JD.com has published an end date in the English-language announcements we found. Chinese media reports differ on whether promotions stop at midnight on November 11 or continue for a few days afterwards. For comparison, Alibaba ran its 2025 event from October 15 through November 14, CNBC reported, while JD's 2025 promotion began on October 9.
Alibaba and JD.com held their 2026 launch events on the same afternoon, October 15, in Shanghai and Beijing, BigGo Finance reported. Both have simplified their promotions this year, moving away from complicated cross-store discounts towards direct price cuts. JD.com also dropped deposit-based pre-sales, so in-stock items can be bought straight away.
What is new on Taobao and Tmall this year?
Alibaba expects a record one million brands and more than 70 million products in its 2026 festival, including 60,000 merchants taking part for the first time, Alizila said on October 15. Other details the company has announced include:
- AI shopping tools: a shopping assistant built on Alibaba's Qwen AI model, launched in May, helps users compare products, virtually try on clothes and pick offers.
- Member coupons: flexible coupons for 88VIP, Tmall's highest-spending members, a group of about 64 million people as of June 2026.
- Apple: its foldable iPhone Duo is debuting on Tmall, and platform discounts apply to iPhone 18 Pro purchases. SCMP put the iPhone 18 Pro coupon at 300 yuan (US$44.82, as converted by SCMP on October 15).
- Overseas delivery: Taobao says its international logistics network now spans more than 600 partners in over 200 countries and regions, with delivery in as little as one day in some markets, SCMP reported.
Alibaba also said that combining discounts and coupons could save shoppers up to 28% in some cases. That is Alibaba's own claim, and actual savings depend on the product and seller.
How big is Singles' Day? Past sales figures
For years, Alibaba published a running total of gross merchandise value (GMV), the value of goods ordered. It reported RMB498.2 billion ($74.1 billion) for the 11 days to November 11, 2020, up from RMB268.4 billion in 2019, according to CNBC. JD.com reported RMB271.5 billion for the same 2020 period.
Alibaba's last published total came in 2021. Its quarterly results filing put GMV for the 11-day campaign at RMB540.3 billion, with a record 290,000 brands taking part. Since then, the big platforms have stopped reporting GMV as the economy slowed and the sales got longer, CNBC noted.
2025: record claims, slower growth
Without company totals, most coverage relies on estimates from the research firm Syntun. It put total 2025 Double 11 sales across all platforms at 1.695 trillion yuan ($238.3 billion), up 14.2% from 2024, according to China Daily and CNBC. That compared with 26.6% growth the year before. Syntun's figures are independent estimates and cover a longer period than the old one-day or 11-day totals, so year-to-year comparisons are rough.
The companies themselves reported growth rather than totals. Alibaba said more than 34,000 brands doubled their sales in 2025, and Tmall reported its strongest growth in GMV net of refunds in four years, SCMP reported. JD.com said the number of customers making a purchase rose 40% and orders rose nearly 60%, without disclosing sales value.
How Singles' Day spread around the world
Singles' Day is no longer only a Chinese event. Alibaba's AliExpress and its Southeast Asian marketplace Lazada run their own 11.11 sales. Alizila says more than 800,000 sellers and brands took part in Lazada's 11.11 in 2021, roughly double the year before.
JD.com takes part in Europe through Ochama, its European retail brand. Ochama's 2024 Singles Day promotion ran from November 1 to 13 with home delivery to 24 European countries, JD said. In the US and UK, the bigger November shopping events remain Black Friday, on November 27 this year, and Cyber Monday, on November 30.
By value of goods sold, CNBC says Singles' Day far exceeds Black Friday in the US. Our Cyber Monday guide includes official advice on avoiding shopping scams, which applies to cross-border shopping too.
What to watch for
- The final countdown: November 11 starts at 16:00 UTC on November 10. Platforms usually post headline figures, such as order or buyer growth, around midnight China time.
- Company results: whether Alibaba and JD.com publish any totals, or again report only growth rates and brand counts.
- Independent estimates: Syntun's all-platform estimate usually arrives within days of the event.
- Consumer mood: analysts will compare the results with official Chinese retail sales data to judge whether spending is recovering.
Our take
Based on the sources above, Singles' Day 2026 looks less like a one-day frenzy and more like a month-long season, with Alibaba and JD.com competing on simpler discounts, AI shopping tools and international reach. The headline numbers to watch are participation and growth claims, because the biggest platforms no longer publish total sales.
For shoppers outside China, the event matters mostly through AliExpress, Lazada and Taobao's overseas delivery. SCMP notes that tariffs on cross-border orders can still change, so delivery terms and import charges are worth checking.
Frequently asked questions
When is Singles' Day 2026?
Singles' Day is on Wednesday, November 11, 2026. In China the day starts at midnight local time (UTC+8), which is 16:00 UTC and 11 a.m. ET on November 10. The promotions run for weeks before it, starting October 12 on JD.com and October 15 on Tmall and Taobao.
When did the Tmall 11.11 sale start in 2026?
Tmall and Taobao pre-sales opened on October 15, and the main 11.11 sale began at 8 p.m. China time on October 20, 2026, according to Alibaba. That was 12:00 UTC. Alibaba has not published an end date in its English announcement.
How much was sold on Singles' Day 2025?
Alibaba and JD.com no longer publish totals. The research firm Syntun estimated 2025 sales across all platforms at 1.695 trillion yuan ($238.3 billion), up 14.2% year on year. JD.com said buyers rose 40% and orders nearly 60%.
Why is it called Singles' Day?
November 11 (11.11) is written with four ones, and the event grew out of a trend among young single people buying gifts for themselves. Alibaba turned it into a shopping festival in 2009, and it is now also known as Double 11.
Can I shop Singles' Day outside China?
Yes. Alibaba's AliExpress and Lazada run 11.11 sales in many countries, Taobao ships overseas, and JD.com has run Singles Day promotions in Europe through Ochama.
Sources
- Tmall Supports Brand Growth as 11.11 Draws Record Participation, Alizila (Alibaba Group)
- 15 Years of 11.11 at Alibaba: A Timeline, Alizila (Alibaba Group)
- Alibaba Group Announces September Quarter 2021 Results (Form 6-K, Exhibit 99.1), Alibaba Group via US SEC
- JD.com Sets New 11.11 Sales Record with 40% Growth in Shoppers and Nearly 60% Increase in Orders, JD.com Corporate Blog
- JD.com Sees Strong 11.11 Start as Active Users and Categories Surge, JD.com Corporate Blog
- Ochama Announces 2024 Singles Day Grand Promotion, JD.com Corporate Blog
- Alibaba sets sights on record-breaking Singles' Day with 1 million brands joining festival, South China Morning Post
- AI puts wind in the sales of Singles' Day as China's e-commerce giants hit records, South China Morning Post
- China's Singles' Day stumbles as frugal shoppers shrink the world's biggest sale, CNBC
- Singles Day 2020: Alibaba and JD rack up record $115 billion of sales, CNBC
- Singles Day sales surge 14.2% to record $238b, China Daily
- China's 2026 Double 11: All Three Giants Kick Off Same Day, BigGo Finance
How we wrote this
GessyMorgan explainers are built from public reporting and official sources. This post draws on the 12 sources listed above, each linked where we use it. It was drafted with AI assistance and checked against those sources before publishing. We did not test products, attend events or interview anyone for this article. Facts are current as of October 27, 2026, and we update the post when they change.
