Singles Day Affiliate Marketing Guide 2023

Are you ready for the first shopping extravaganza of this year’s shopping season? The much-anticipated Singles Day, also known as 11.11 or Global Shopping Festival, approaches. Originating in China, this global shopping phenomenon has transcended borders, capturing the hearts and wallets of consumers worldwide. Singles Day is not just a day for singles to celebrate their independence; it’s a day for everyone to snag incredible deals and discounts on everything from tech gadgets to fashion, beauty, and beyond. 

But what if we told you that you could turn your love for shopping into a lucrative venture? In this article, we’re about to unveil the ultimate insights to maximize your Singles’ Day experience and of course the best affiliate programs with tailor-made promotions just for the 11.11 shopping extravaganza (we will add the best of the best affiliate programs to this article a bit later, stay tuned!) that promise not only savings but earnings too. Because as we say here in Indoleads: when your users save money with great deals – you make money as an affiliate marketer! A happy user – a wealthy you!

Get ready to discover how to transform your shopping spree into a profitable adventure!  

General trends in the region

The sales rise in the region

• Across the region: sales rose +205% on 11.11 2022 compared to October 11-17.
• Country-specific: +263% in Singapore, +131% in Indonesia, and +79% in Vietnam.

Apps and mobile devices lead the way

• App and Desktop both in the lead with App slightly ahead
• App purchases: +234% increase on 11.11 compared to October 11-17
• Desktop purchases: +231% increase on 11.11 compared to October 11-17
• Behind App and Desktop, transactions carried out through Mobile increased +189% on Singles’ Day

High popularity of big local eCommerce giants, such as Shopee, Lazada, etc.

• In 2021, Shopee set two new records at its 11.11 Big Sale, in Southeast Asia and Taiwan: shoppers across the region bought over 2 billion items, breaking the previous record set in 2020. Visits to the platform hit an all-time high in the first two hours of Nov. 11, 2021, spiking 5.5 times compared to an average day’s traffic. 
• In 2021 Singles Day saw more than 800,000 participating sellers and brands on Lazada, a number that was double that of previous year’s. 

Sources: Criteo, Statista, LazBeat

Travel services are on demand

• Plane tickets, hotels, experiences, etc. were highly popular both on 11.11 and BF/CM here. (Indoleads analytics)

Key statistics for SEA countries

Malaysia

• In 2020 Malaysia ranked 4th globally in terms of the top overseas countries purchasing from China on online shopping day 11.11 by gross merchandise value after the US, Russia and France. (New Straits Times)
• More than RM20 million worth of merchant sales were generated in Malaysia on this day in 2019. (NST Business)
• A Malaysian shopper spent up to RM70,000 in a single receipt during the 11.11 sales in 2020 on the Shopee platform. (The Malaysian Reserve)
• Shopee was one of the top shopping destinations for locals, followed by fashion stores such as ZALORA and Adidas, and health and beauty stores such as Watsons.
• AliExpress, Adidas, Nike, Shopee, Watsons, and ZALORA were leading the list of stores and brands that constituted top choice for Malaysians on this day in the past years.
• Khairulaming Brand, PRODIY, Marshear Beauty, Momo House, and B.S.B emerged as top local sellers recording the highest orders made in 2022. (Shopee)
• 6 times more new local sellers took part in the campaign on Shopee platform in 2022 for the first time compared to average day. 
• Over 3.2 times uplift in items sold has been experienced by local sellers on Shopee on 11 November 2022 compared to average day. 
• Approximately 6 times more orders were paid with Shopee’s e-wallet on last year’s 11.11 compared to an average day in November. (Minime Insights)

Indonesia

• 11.11 is one of the 3 main double-digit sales in Indonesia. (YouGov)
• There was a 3-digit growth in sellers booking sales for the Lazada 11.11 campaign in 2020. (Antara News)
• On 11.11 2020, buyers and incoming orders on Lazada Indonesia were almost twice as high at midday November 11, compared to the same time a year before.

Vietnam

• 11.11 is considered the largest shopping festival for Vietnam.
• In 2021 Lazada recorded a 2-fold increase in sales and the number of orders, and the number of customers visiting the website increased by 1.5 times compared to this occasion last year. 
• In 2021 the number of sales on Tiki increased 9 times compared to the same period in 2020, and the number of customers visiting and shopping was also 2 times higher than usual.

Thailand

• The 11.11 sale in 2020 brought 230 million-baht online sales in one single day for the Central Group, which was the highest ever online day for the retailer – nearly double the growth of the 11.11 sale event in 2019, and 8 times higher than average day sales. (Central Group)

Singapore

• Singles Day features in the top 3 “most preferred” year-end sales among Singaporeans.
• In 2020 Lazada Singapore 11.11 online sales surpassed previous year’s performance with the shopping site being among the top three online marketplaces that consumers flocked to for the sale, alongside Shopee and another marketplace. (ShopBack)
• In 2021 e-commerce giant Lazada’s 11.11 sale recorded 11 million SGD in sales in just 9 minutes. (Blackbox)

The rising popularity of 11.11 outside Asia  

• Germany was leading in this statistic of Singles Day popularity in Europe with 21.3%, followed by the Netherlands with 20.5%, the UK with 19.7%, and France – 16.6%. (Statista, 2019-2020)
• The strongest sales spikes for Singles Day 2021 in Europe were in Italy (80%), Spain (68%), and France (57%). (Criteo)
• In the US, Nike got $15 million in sales in the first minute. (Business Insider, 2020)
• Singles Day is especially popular in the UK among the Chinese and South East Asian communities, as they tend to look for a similar shopping experience here as back home. In 2021 UK shoppers were set to spend £1.7bn on Singles Day. (Voucher Codes, The Drum)
• In recent years, Singles day gained impressive popularity in Latin America. Big marketplaces like Americanas and Mercado Libre started offering huge discounts on many product categories on this day, which has helped sellers to start generating more sales prior to Black Friday. (nocnoc)

What do people buy on 11.11?

Malaysia

• Dress, kasut perempuan and blouse emerged as top keywords searched here in previous years for this day. 
• Shoppers preferred using ShopeePay in four main categories: electronics, FMCG products, lifestyle items and fashion. Items in demand for these categories are mainly from health & beauty, home & living, home appliances and women’s fashion. (Shopee, 2022)
• Rice based dishes were the favorite food option with over 50 thousand rice dishes ordered on ShopeeFood during 11 November. Other favorite food orders included Fast Food, Chinese and Malaysian dishes. Most popular food brands ordered on 11.11 were  McDonalds, KFC, Tealive, Pizza Hut, Chase and MarryBrown. (Shopee, 2022)
• As for the largest expenses, home and living, groceries and pets, as well as health and beauty categories were on the top list. 
• For the brands category, Huawei recorded RM1 million in sales on its Matebook D15 within the first 10 minutes of the sale. 
• Samyang Hot Chicken noodles were super popular during Singles Day in 2020 with 53,000 packets having been sold in the first eight hours of the sale.  (Shopee, 2020) 

Indonesia

Top 3 products bought on 11.11 by popularity

1. 62% – Fashion: for men, women & kids
2. 54% – Personal care & Beauty products: shampoo, soaps, perfume, makeup, etc. 
3. 29% – Consumer Electronics & Tech products: computers, laptops, TVs, etc. (YouGov)

Thailand

Top 3 products bought on 11.11 by popularity

1. 43% – Fashion: for men, women & kids
2. 43% – Personal care & Beauty products: shampoo, soaps, perfume, makeup, etc. 
3. 38% – Consumer Electronics & Tech products: computers, laptops, TVs, etc. (YouGov)

The Best Affiliate Marketing Strategies Prior to 11.11

• Choose offers from top performing brands and companies

Singles Day as a shopping extravaganza was primarily brought by Alibaba, so no wonder that it’s still super popular on big marketplaces. That’s why you can’t go wrong with Shopee, Lazada, Blibli, Tiki, Americanas, and other eCommerce giants for your SEA targeted campaigns. 

• Use social media to the most

Instagram is a strong choice for your Singles’ Day campaign. The average user is young and relatively affluent here. Instagram users will be very much awaiting for the deals, so get the most out of this opportunity.

• Coupons and limited-time promotions grab all the attention

Yes, 11.11 is big in SEA, but it doesn’t mean people will buy anything just because it’s this day. A lot of users will patiently wait for the biggest deal, which will probably come with Black Friday/Cyber Monday. 

So get the best deals for your deal-conscious audience. Show them all the value they get by shopping right now. 

What sells like crazy:

• Bundle deal variations: buy one, get one free, buy one, get the second one at a reduced price, or buy two of the same kind and get a discount, etc.;
• Free shipping option;
• Big discounts, starting from at least 15% off.

Just check out the Promo section for each offer in our list, so you can see the most lucrative deals. 

• Beauty and fashion products are generally fast movers

Surely, not only them, but according to numerous stats for previous years, these two are very much anticipated by customers.

• Email marketing should be on your list

The most effective way to get your audience’s attention via email is to create a sense of urgency with a campaign. The best way to do this? A limited-time offer. And in the case with 11.11 it’s really so! It’s the shopping season, so people are already interested in deals, that’s why there’s a high chance that your email will find its recipient.

• Reflect the true spirit of Singles Day

As you probably know, Single Day was originally about celebrating being single, and you can leverage that too! Proclaim self-love with some of the promoted products and services, encourage users to treat themselves with something which makes them feel happy or to celebrate their friendships. You can use this both in your creatives and in your content. 

• Attention-grabbing creatives

In continuation of the previous paragraph, you can think out of the box and come up with some funny and eye-catching visuals, because it’s 11.11! But remember, 11/11 coincides with memorial days, such as Veterans Day in the US and Remembrance Day in many countries, so be creative, but sensitive.

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Final thoughts

11.11 aka Singles Day is a number 1 shopping event in SEA. Being an affiliate marketer with a local audience – that’s a tremendous opportunity to make money on! 

Good luck and happy Singles Day earnings!