China’s biggest shopping festival, “Double 11” (双十一), concluded last week.
Also known as Singles’ Day, the festival was launched in 2009 by Alibaba as a one-day online discounting event on November 11 targeting China’s population of singles.
Over the years, it’s evolved into a multi-week online retail marathon involving all major platforms.
This year’s Double 11 started earlier than ever which meant the festival lasted for over a month.
Short-video streaming platform, Kuaishou (快手), kicked things off on October 7th, still during the National Day holidays. Two days later, China’s second-largest e-commerce platform JD (京东), joined in, as did Douyin (抖音), the Chinese version of TikTok. And by October 15th, Alibaba ecommerce platforms, Taobao (淘宝) and Tmall (天猫), had also launched their discounting campaigns.
This year’s event reportedly generated nearly 1.7 trillion yuan ($238 billion USD) across all platforms, which is a year-on-year increase of 14.2%. But with far slower growth than in previous years.
Outside of the mind-numbing numbers, the tone around Double 11 has changed.
Online commentary reveals a nostalgia for when the shopping festival felt like a major cultural event — a time of optimism when China seemed unstoppably on the rise.
There’s even a new phrase to describe that nostalgia which has become a popular hashtag on social media:
“The beauty of the economic upturn”
经济上行期的美
This refers to a time during the 2010s when Double 11 felt like a national celebration, and a time of incredible levels of opportunity, and carefree spending.
But now many people say that sense of optimism has faded. According to discussions in the Chinese media, there are three big reasons for this feeling of malaise.
Related
The first is China’s internet population has reached saturation
Between 2015 and 2025, China’s online population grew from 688 million to around 1.2 billion.
At the same time, internet traffic has consolidated around a handful of online platforms: WeChat (微信), Douyin (抖音), Bilibili (B站), and RedNote (小红书). Major e-commerce platforms — Alibaba, JD, PDD, and Meituan — compete for this limited traffic on those platforms.
So Double 11 campaigns have become longer, and shoppers feel more overwhelmed than ever.
But as one industry insider observed:
“Platforms may accept that Double 11 is becoming less exciting, but they can’t tolerate poor performance on this day.”
可以接受双十一变得越来越平淡，但绝不可能接受自己在这一天的失败。
The second is discounting is no longer special
Ecommerce platforms now run year-long promotions.
And the ongoing “price war” (价格战) between Alibaba, JD, and Meituan means customers now expect low prices all year round.
This has desensitised customers to discounts, and made them sceptical:
Consumers have realised the so-called discounts were nothing more than a “raise prices first, then lower them” tactic, with actual savings even less than on regular days.
消费者发现，所谓折扣不过是“先涨价再降价”的套路，实际优惠力度甚至不如平日。 [2]
The third is people have less money to spend
As we’ve discussed before in this newsletter, many people in China are under more financial strain than they used to be.
Factors such as the fall in consumer confidence, the difficult job market, and the stressed property sector, mean many people feel less secure, and are less willing to spend. For them life is more stressful, and the future feels less bright.
But what many people say they really miss isn’t the festival itself, or even the shopping.
It’s this:
“What people truly miss is the sense of hope and security during the era of economic growth, where they enjoyed both countless opportunities as well as the certainty of a better future. “
人们真正怀念的，是经济上升期那种”有奔头又有安全感”的状态。既有”机会遍地”的可能性，又有”明天会更好”的确定性。
In other words they miss that feeling of the “beauty of an economic upturn”.
So, is Double 11 dead?
Well, not quite yet, as one article puts it:
“Double 11 isn’t dead.
It’s just entered its twilight years. Its momentum is fading and the era of rapid expansion across the e-commerce ecosystem is over.”
双十一没死，只是进入暮年，快不行了，整个电商生态红利没有了 [4]
And that’s what we’re exploring this week!
Favourite Five
1. 怀念 huái niàn
to miss, to long for
我很怀念那个全民都为“双十一”狂欢的时代 - I really miss the time when the whole country celebrated “Double 11”. [1]
2. 褪去 tuì qù
to fade, to wear off
它的“狂欢”色彩会褪去，“常态化”会成为主题 - Its frenzy will fade, and it will become a regular part of the shopping ecosystem. [1]
3. 奔头 bèn tou
prospects, something to look forward to
人们真正怀念的，是经济上升期那种“有奔头又有安全感”的状态 - What people truly missed is the sense of hope and security during the period of economic growth. [5]
4. 安全感 ān quán gǎn
sense of security
其实是当时那种相信未来一定更好的底气和安全感 - It was actually the confidence and sense of security people had in a better future. [5]
5. 经济上行期的美 jīng jì shàng xíng qī de měi
the beauty of an economic upturn
最近刷到越来越多人开始怀念10年代经济上行期的美 - Lately, I’ve seen more and more people reminiscing online about the beauty of the economic upturn during the 2010s. [5]
🎧RTM Podcast Preview
This week on the RTM Advanced podcast, we explain four phrases essential you need to know to discuss “nostalgia” and “something to look forward to” .
Tune in at 7 minutes where we break down what they mean and the stories behind them…
How native speakers use them…
And how you can use them in real conversations right now and show off your amazing Chinese!
Consuming the Conversation
💡 Ready to get inspired to bridge the gap to real-world fluency? 💡
In every RTM Advanced post you unlock content and tools to inspire you, and help you get fluent.
So, ready to finally get started and wave goodbye to that nagging rusty feeling?
Let’s jump in👇
Consuming the Conversation
Useful words
6. 狂热 kuáng rè
fanatical, extremely enthusiastic
当年的消费者，看起来也比现在狂热得多 - Consumers back then seemed much more enthusiastic than they are now. [1]
Related:
狂欢 kuáng huān - carnival, revelry
7. 心智 xīn zhì
mindset, mental perception
一举干掉了当时市面上大量的零散小平台，成功拿下所有人的心智 - It wiped out many of the small platforms on the market at the time and managed to win the hearts and minds of the consumers. [1]
8. 暮年 mù nián
old age, twilight years
双十一没死，只是进入暮年 - Double 11 isn’t dead; it has simply entered its twilight years. [4]
