Singles’ Day sales set to soar

Tuesday 7^th November 2017 – Beijing — Worldpay, a global leader in payments, is predicting another record-breaking China Singles’ Day for businesses around the world, as the eCommerce extravaganza goes global.

New data from Worldpay reveals that last year’s event grew by 39% globally¹ , with sales outstripping Black Friday by 137%.² Online shopping activities peaked at 17.24 GMT³, at which point Worldpay was processing 44,505 payments per minute.

The payments processor is expecting 11 November to make history again this year, as more and more international brands opt to participate in the shopping festival.

According to Worldpay, retailers in Australia and Hong Kong are seeing the fastest growth, with sales rising by 105% and 71% respectively year-on-year.⁴

Although the volume of sales has plateaued in mainland China, the average spend per purchase continues to rise, at a rate of 9%,⁵ as more and more shoppers tend to splurge on big ticket-items.

Worldpay’s transaction data supports recent findings from the Global eCommerce Leaders Forum (GELF), which revealed the rise in consumer spending power in China is translating into growing sales on international eCommerce sites, as more Chinese shoppers than ever before are seeking genuine products from cherished global brands.⁶

Tang Kok San, Country Manager for China at Worldpay said: “Since its inception as a local celebration of singledom, Singles’ Day has risen to become the world’s top grossing-online shopping holiday, and the event knows no boundaries. Our data reveals how fast Singles’ Day is growing internationally, so for international businesses looking to break into the huge Chinese eCommerce market, 11 November should be an important landmark in the calendar year.

“To turn browsers into buyers, it is essential to tailor the online shopping experience to local tastes. For Chinese consumers, this means focusing on your mobile proposition. Shoppers expect to use their

About the data

Figures quoted are according to Worldpay’s Global eCom transaction data for online retailers on China Singles Day (11/11). In 2016 Worldpay processed a total of 14.9bn transactions at a value of £451.1bn.

About Worldpay

Worldpay is a leading payments company with global reach. We provide an extensive range of technology-led payment products and services to around 400,000 customers, enabling their businesses to grow and prosper. We manage the increasing complexity of the payments landscape for our customers, allowing them to accept the widest range of payment types around the world. Using our network and technology, we are able to process payments from geographies covering 99% of global GDP, across 146 countries and 126 currencies. We help our customers to accept more than 300 different payment types.

For more information, visit http://www.worldpay.com/global

For More Information

Emily Lahey, +44 (0) 203 664 5663
Global eCom
PR Director
emily.lahey@worldpay.com

Candy Xie, + (852) 2501 7949
Golin
cxie@golin.com

¹Figures refer to YoY comparison of global retail sales on 11/11/16 vs 11/11/15
²Comparison of volume of sales on China Singles Day 2016 vs Black Friday 2016
³01.54am CST, HKT, SGT
⁴Figures refer to YoY comparison of retail sales on 11/11/16 vs 11/11/15
⁵Figures refer to YoY comparison of average transaction value on 11/11/16 vs 11/11/15
⁶Catching the China eCommerce Wave: A Global Ecommerce Leaders Forum Study, November 2017
preferred payment option – increasingly e-wallets like Alipay and WeChat Pay – and merchants should offer a cutting edge checkout experience to attract tech savvy consumers.”