Gilt Wants In on China's 'Orgy of Online Shopping,' Singles Day

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Gilt Groupe is making a big play to expand its business in China, and according to WWD, the company's prepping to conquer Singles Day on November 11. That's the Chinese holiday invented as an answer to Valentine's Day, when unattached people throw parties and buy themselves presents. Singles Day is now the biggest online shopping day of the year. It's 2.5 times bigger than Cyber Monday, according to the Financial Times, which calls Singles Day "an orgy of online shopping."

To gear up for Singles Day, Gilt partnered with Alibaba's Alipay to allow customers to pay with local currency, and Gilt is personalizing emails based on data analytics to appeal to various markets, like Hong Kong versus Mainland China. The lessons learned through Gilt's China efforts could be transferred to other countries as Gilt continues to expand its global operations.
· Gilt Turns Eye Toward Asia [WWD]
· Alibaba Aims For 'Singles' Day' Record [FT]
· Gilt Ranks US States by Heel Height [Racked]
· What the Stylish Women Behind Gilt Groupe Wear to Work [Racked]