On 11 November, the date is four ones in a row: 11.11. In China that has become the world's biggest shopping day, and over the last decade it has quietly made its way into European and Nordic retail calendars too. For many brands, Singles' Day marketing is now the opening act of the season, arriving about two weeks before Black Friday.
This guide explains where Singles' Day comes from, how to position it next to Black Friday, and gives you practical campaign ideas, a timeline and a checklist. In 2026, 11 November falls on a Wednesday, and Black Friday follows on 27 November.
What Singles' Day is and how it spread to Europe
According to Wikipedia's overview of Singles' Day, the day started as a student celebration at Nanjing University in 1993. The date was chosen because the four ones look like four single people. In 2009, Alibaba began using it as a 24-hour online shopping event with big discounts, and it has grown from there.
The same article notes that the day is now observed in several places outside China. In Europe, electronics retailers were early adopters: MediaMarkt promotes Singles' Day in Germany, and Elgiganten ran a Singles' Day campaign in Norway in 2016 before rolling it out in the other Nordic countries the following year.
One thing to be aware of: 11 November is also Armistice Day, which is marked in several European countries. Wikipedia mentions that a Singles' Day promotion in Belgium met negative reactions for that reason. If you sell in markets where the day carries that meaning, keep your tone light and respectful, and check the local mood before you go big.
Singles' Day marketing: positioning vs Black Friday
The biggest question is not whether to do something on 11.11, but how it should relate to Black Friday. You have three options.
1. The warm-up
Use the 11.11 sale as a teaser for Black Week. Smaller offers, lots of fun, and a clear goal: get people to sign up so they hear about your Black Friday deals first. This is the safest choice if Black Friday is your main event.
2. The alternative
Some customers are tired of Black Friday by the time it arrives. Position 11.11 as the calmer, earlier option: "Shop now, skip the rush." This works well for gifts, where people want to be done early.
3. The self-gifting day
Singles' Day started as a day for people without a partner. Many brands lean into the "treat yourself" angle: one day a year to buy something just for you. This fits beauty, fashion, food and drink, hobbies and wellness brands well.
Whichever you choose, avoid giving away your best Black Friday discount two weeks early. If 11.11 offers are better than Black Friday, you train customers to wait for the wrong day, or you make your Black Friday look weak.
Singles' Day campaign ideas
Here are singles day ideas that work well with interactive formats. Most can be built from a template in an afternoon.
11 prizes on 11.11
Run a scratch card, wheel or mystery box on 11 November with 11 headline prizes, plus a small discount code for everyone else. Scratcher lets you decide how many of each prize can be won and when, so you can spread the 11 prizes across the day and there is still something to win in the evening.
Prize drops through the day
Instead of all prizes at once, release new prizes every hour. Announce each drop on social media and in an SMS, and remind people that new prizes are waiting. It keeps people coming back during the day and spreads traffic out.
Crack the 11.11 code
Use the lucky number game. Players type in the code they think is right, and if it matches, they win. Hide hints across your channels in the days before: one digit in your newsletter, one on Instagram, one on a poster in store. People who follow you everywhere have the best chance, and every hint sends traffic to another channel.
The self-gifting quiz
A personality test called "What should you treat yourself to?" with results like "The Cosy Homebody", "The Adventurer" or "The Pamper Pro". Each result shows matching products and a Singles' Day code. The answers tell you what each person likes, which is useful for your Black Week emails.
The 11-day countdown
Use a campaign calendar with 11 doors from 1 to 11 November. Behind each door, put a quick game, a tip or a small offer, and save the best prize for door 11. Turn on auto-submit, and returning players only fill in the form once. You can even keep the calendar running with extra doors through Black Week.
Solo deals
Lean into the theme with "deals for one": single-portion food boxes, solo travel offers, one-person experiences. Let people spin a wheel to find out which solo deal they win.
Gift for yourself, gift for a friend
A gift surprise where people open a gift for themselves and get a code they can share with a friend. A simple way to reach new people through the ones you already have.
Collecting leads for Black Week
Singles' Day is also the perfect moment to build your list for Black Friday. Most of your Black Week emails will only reach people who have already said yes to hearing from you, so the sign-ups you collect on 11.11 are worth more than the sales on the day itself.
- Ask for permission clearly. Use your own words: "Yes, send me Black Week deals before everyone else."
- Add one question. "What are you shopping for this Black Week?" with four or five categories. Send the answer to your email tool, and send each person the deals that match.
- Promise early access. People who sign up on 11.11 get Black Friday deals a few hours earlier than everyone else.
- Map the prize. If people won a code on 11.11, send it to your email tool, so you can remind them to use it.
- Use double opt-in if you want to be sure every email is real (with the Email module).
POWER shows how valuable a list built before Black Friday can be. Its Black Friday wheel of fortune, running from 10 to 26 November, brought in 60,000 new email permissions and 45,697 new loyalty members. Read the POWER story. And for more on Black Friday itself, see our post on Black Friday marketing that goes beyond discounts.
Timeline
Working backwards from Wednesday 11 November 2026:
Four weeks before (mid-October)
- Decide your positioning: warm-up, alternative or self-gifting.
- Pick a format and a template.
- Plan prizes and set a budget.
Three weeks before
- Build the campaign and add your brand. Rex, our AI assistant, can add your logo, colours and fonts from your website and write the texts.
- Connect your email tool or CRM and test that sign-ups arrive with the right fields.
- Write your terms.
Two weeks before
- Prepare promotion: newsletter, SMS, social posts, pop-up and in-store posters with a QR code.
- If you run a countdown calendar, publish it by 1 November.
- Test everything on a phone.
The week before
- Tease the campaign on social media and in your newsletter.
- Share hints if you are running a code hunt.
11 November
- Go live early in the morning.
- Show the game as a pop-up on your website.
- Post on social media and send your newsletter and SMS.
- Watch visits and sign-ups in near real time, and push the channels that work.
After 11.11
- Send a thank-you email with the prize or a consolation code.
- Move new subscribers into your Black Week flow.
- Look at which channels brought the most players, and use that for Black Friday.
Checklist
- Positioning decided, and 11.11 offers do not undercut Black Friday
- Format chosen and built from a template
- Prize plan with limits, so prizes last all day
- Short form with clear permission text
- One question about Black Week shopping plans
- Integration tested with your email tool
- Pop-up, newsletter, SMS, social posts and QR code ready
- Terms written and linked from the start page
- Follow-up flow from 11.11 into Black Week
- Tone checked for markets where 11 November is Armistice Day
Get your 11.11 campaign ready
There is still time to make Singles' Day the start of your best Black Week yet. Start a free 14-day trial and build your 11.11 game from a template, or book a meeting if you want help planning the whole season.
