Singles Day 2026 to hit $260bn globally as UK spend heads for £2.2bn, says Parcelhero
The world’s biggest shopping event lands on Wednesday 11 November, and home delivery expert Parcelhero predicts global sales of around $260bn, up about 10% on last year’s $238bn, with Britain’s spend rising to roughly £2.2bn. The firm says Brits who get ‘Singles-minded’ can get a head start on Christmas bargains, and on Christmas delivery deadlines.
Singles Day, held on 11 November, is set for another record-breaking year. The parcel price comparison expert Parcelhero predicts global sales of around $260bn, an increase of about 10% on the roughly $238bn the 11.11 Shopping Festival generated across all platforms in 2025. It also expects UK shoppers to spend about £2.2bn, up from the more than £2bn Parcelhero’s research found Brits splurged last time.
At that level, Singles Day would be nearly seven times the size of the entire Black Friday and Cyber Week period, which Parcelhero puts at around $38bn. It would also be more than ten times Amazon’s record-breaking four-day Prime Day sale, which brought in $24bn.
Parcelhero’s head of consumer research, David Jinks MILT, says: ‘Growth may be cooling from the breakneck pace of the past, when sales jumped 26.6% between 2023 and 2024. But a 10% rise on a base this size is still an extra $22bn of global spending.
‘The event is supposedly the flip side of Valentine’s Day. It was created by Chinese university students in the 1990s, who cheered themselves up by buying something nice. The date, 11/11, was chosen because the repeated number one symbolises solo living. By 2009 it had become a global sales sensation, with people spending money not only on themselves but also buying presents early for Christmas.
A growing UK habit
‘UK Singles Day sales reached £1.72bn in 2021 and £1.97bn in 2023, according to Statista. Our own research indicates they topped £2bn last year and, looking at how early spending has gone, we are forecasting a rise of around 10% this year, matching the event’s global growth.
‘Singles Day is still far from being the phenomenon in the UK that it is in China. Perhaps that’s because it clashes uneasily with Remembrance Day. But for an event with so little general awareness, a £2bn-plus spend is a healthy result, higher than Halloween, and we expect the growth to continue.
‘It’s canny Gen Zs and Millennials driving that growth, while many Gen Xers and Baby Boomers would still give you a blank look if you mentioned it. Once those older groups become “Singles-minded”, we can expect a real UK boom. The event is perfectly timed for early-bird Christmas shoppers, and the smallest permission to spend on ourselves is just too tempting to resist.
Who will offer the bargains?
‘We expect the best deals to come from retailers and platforms with links to China, such as Alibaba and AliExpress, which let Brits buy direct from Chinese traders. Temu sellers will also feature considerable offers. With the EU now imposing tough new controls and handling fees on low value imports, you can be sure that many Chinese firms will be concentrating more of their efforts on the UK, which has yet to implement these measures.
‘UK retailers have been quicker to embrace the event than UK shoppers. M&S, Waitrose, Dyson, Burberry and Jaguar Land Rover have joined in on Alibaba’s Tmall site in recent years. River Island, New Look, Zavvi and Sports Direct have offered Singles Day deals too, and ASOS has held a snap 20% off everything sale.
‘Singles Day is also bigger than a single day now. China has learned from Amazon’s example in turning one day into a week or more, and Alibaba has stretched its 11.11 festival over several weeks. In effect, Singles Day has become Singles Month.
Christmas is six weeks away
‘With Black Friday following on 27 November, Singles Day effectively starts the seasonal shopping race With Christmas only six weeks away. If you’re buying a bargain for a friend or loved one, it’s not too early to plan how you’ll get it to them in good time.