Since its inception, Singles Day has grown at a dizzying pace to become the highest-grossing retail event in the world. The deep savings and promotions offered by online retailers like Alibaba and JD.com have become a mammoth retail spectacle acknowledged around the globe as an important economic indicator for China and beyond. So what do the 2021 results indicate? The sheer number of participating brands and shoppers was staggering — not to mention total revenue or year-on-year growth for brands, retailers, and the event as a whole. Still, in order to better understand the full story of Singles Day 2021, we need to dig a bit deeper.

Let's review the numbers — both the good and not-so-good — and see what takeaways retailers can use as they prepare for Singles Day 2022.

For more coverage and analysis on Singles Day 2021, visit:

• Forbes: China’s Singles’ Day 2021: Three Questions Answered
• Alizila: LIVE BLOG: Alibaba’s 11.11 Global Shopping Festival
• South China Morning Post: Singles’ Day posts record haul despite slower pace, as China’s antitrust moves dampen world’s biggest online shopping event
• Channel News Asia: Chinese state newspaper blasts 'worship of turnover' after Alibaba's Singles Day