Far from Verdun, the fields of the Marne and the trenches, November 11 corresponds to “Singles’ Day” in China. A little witticism around the quadruple 1 contained in the date 11/11, representing individuality. On this occasion, most online sales sites, notably the national giant Ali Baba, are playing the discounted price card so that singles in the country can treat themselves to self-gifts. Successful effect: sales increase every year and exceed Black Friday levels in China.
If this national success is indisputable, the festival struggles to go beyond the country’s borders. In France, we do not see any particular economic upheaval during this day, and the blue card of French singles will probably pass through this Saturday like a ghost. However, other grafts – Halloween or Black Friday, to name a few – have worked quite well in the past.
Questionable choice of date
So why not Single Day? Already, the date of 11/11 is already taken with a small European historical event that you have undoubtedly heard of, the Armistice of the First World War. “All the Poilus are dead and the event is more than a century old, but the date remains historically very marked in France, difficult to replace or superimpose,” recalls Pierre-Louis Desprez, general director of Kaos, a firm specializing in marketing.
The very principle of having a singles’ party on 11.11 is based on a mechanism that is relatively unknown in the West, underlines Dominique Desjeux, an anthropologist of consumption: “The puns on numbers and the over-importance that we give to them are less anchored in French culture, where celebrations have more of a link with religion.” The perfect example: Halloween, which was added to All Saints’ Day. “The rites are not transferred like that from one country to another, there must be a minimum of hooking points,” continues the anthropologist.
Why celebrate love again in France?
And then a celebration in reference to love, it’s very nice to offer it to us, Beijing, but we already have Valentine’s Day, recalls Pierre-Louis Desprez. Why not two, one for singles and one for lovers? “The theme is less strong in the West, with less strong social control and less restrictive pressure from the State on singles,” explains François Kraus, director of the Politics/News division at Ifop and in charge of the Gender theme. , sexuality and sexual health.
It is indeed difficult to uncorrelate the success of the Singles’ Day with Chinese internal politics, which makes the couple the ultimate in life (with love of the country, don’t mess around). In the Chinese Single Day, there is certainly the idea of thumbing its nose at this social pressure, but also the desire that self-purchases serve to sell oneself, to “finally” get out of this famous celibacy. Thus, the best seller of Single Day 2014 concerned a steam mask for the eyes, in 2016 an electric cleansing brush for the face, and in 2019 food supplements.
Conversely, in Europe, the pressure of marriage and family is clearly not the same. François Kraus: “There is also more difficulty in Confucian societies in approaching the other sex and in social exchange with non-relatives than in our Latin countries, hence the predominance of this festival in China and the fact that “it does not emerge in our country, where we would not need it so much.”
The weakness of Chinese soft power
These are frankly convincing arguments. But why miss a day of frenzied shopping that we are usually quite fond of, especially in times of inflation? “It is very likely that most French people are unaware of the very existence of this holiday. The rare traditions that we have imported come from the United States or other European countries, with a culture much closer to ours and a soft power greater than China,” analyzes Dominique Desjeux.
It’s starting to do a lot. And even if Single Day ticked all the boxes, it’s not so easy for a party to establish itself. Even Halloween is declining in France after its breakthrough in the 1990s, notes Pierre-Louis Desprez: “It’s the same with Neighbors’ Day, which quickly faded… It’s very hard to create a tradition. It’s a small miracle that it works in China. So importing it to the West would be a second. » Come on, for singles this Saturday, in the absence of crazy promotions, remember that we are better alone than in bad company.