Let's put this in perspective: if you're from the US and have experienced "Black Friday," the day after Thanksgiving in late November that is seen as the first shopping day of the Christmas season, and a barometer of both how that season will be and the economy in general, or from the UK and experienced the January sales, well, when it comes to Singles Day, you ain't seen nuthin' yet.
November 11 is known as Singles Day because of the four ones in the date: 11-11. Originally a day for single people, and bachelors specifically, to meet other singles or just hang out with their other single friends, retailers have harnessed the narcissism of China's youth and turned the occasion into the world's largest shopping day. Not one of the world's largest shopping days. Singles Day is the single largest shopping day on the planet. How large? In 2014, Alibaba clocked up sales of about USD 9.5 billion. Billion. One day. That's almost USD 110,000 per second. We know, we suddenly wish we had an online shop selling anything in China too.
To take full advantage of all the deals that will appear, the online shopper will need online payment options – and that American Express card probably isn't going to do it. Below we've compiled a list of payment options and how to connect your Chinese bank account to them to empty it out in a hurry, courtesy of former beijingkids Managing Editor Sijia Chen and her series Net Savings.
One important point in establishing all of these accounts is that you will need to enter your name as it appears on whichever Chinese bank account you are using. Most likely it appears the same as on your passport or ID document, but check and be sure.
Alipay: Alibaba's payment option is the preferred one on its TMall.com shopping site, and accepted in a whole bunch of other places, along with allowing you to pay some utility bills online. A number of foreigners (including your author) have had trouble getting Alipay to accept their credentials and establish an account, even when they follow the instructions for setting up Alipay as a foreigner. If you're planning 11-11 purchases, you'll probably need this one.
WeChat Wallet: Available right off your phone, WeChat Wallet can be used to pa for all kinds of things, including paying a friend back for a meal, tickets, and of course, online goods and services. Registration is pretty straightforward, and can be completed in English if you're using WeChat's English version on your phone. Completing a purchase usually requires scanning a QR code, then authorizing the payment with your security code or fingerprint, depending on your system. You can maintain a balance in the account itself, or just pay directly from a designated, connected account. Read the bottom part of this post for tips on setting up WeChat Wallet and using it to shop on Taobao.
Baidu Wallet: Not as ubiquitous as the other two payment methods above, Baidu Wallet is still an option for some sites and some users. Be advised that people with longer, European names (like Schwankert) may find that the system does not allow registration because it only accepts a limited number of characters; if so, well, that's that. There's more information on how to get your account going here.
Good luck on Wednesday! Show us what you bought with a post in the Comments section below.
Photo: Technology News China
Btw someone in the business told me the best deals typically can be had:
-- during the first hour (12 midnight - 1am tonight) when merchants who are offering fixed sales totals will still have the good stuff up for offer
-- during the last hour (11pm- 12 midnight tomorrow) when vendors competing for the best sales records will drop prices as they jockey for the top slot in their category
