U.S. retailers get their own Singles Day

A new October omnichannel sales extravaganza looks to compete with Prime Day and the 11.11 Global Shopping Festival.

Retail research/advisory firm Coresight Research, shopping rewards app Shopkick and global online fashion marketplace Fashwire are launching the 10.10 Shopping Festival. During the weekend of Oct. 9-11, consumers can earn Shopkick “kicks” rewards currency for visiting and purchasing from participating retailers and brands, both online and offline. In addition, Fashwire is extending a special offer for its 300-plus brand partners to be part of the festival. 

In addition to the numerous omnichannel sales holidays which have been introduced by individual retailers, multi-retailer events including Cash Back Day and National Use Your Gift Card Day have emerged in recent years. The two dominant sales holidays continue to be Amazon Prime Day, reportedly slated for Oct. 13-14 this year, and Alibaba’s 11.11 Global Shopping Festival, popularly known as “Singles Day.” Alibaba has been actively recruiting U.S. companies to participate in Singles Day 2020.

Looking ahead, Coresight Research envisions the 10.10 Shopping Festival becoming a major U.S. shopping event. The festival will include participation from leading omnichannel and direct-to-consumer retailers that will provide consumers with discounts of 25% or more off popular products. In addition, Coresight Retail, Shopkick and FashWire will all be making event-related donations to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.

“Shopping festivals, like Alibaba’s Singles’ Day in China, are a huge trend that have since expanded globally,” said Deborah Weinswig, founder and CEO of Coresight Research. “Our research shows that most consumers plan to holiday shop earlier than ever this year, providing the perfect opportunity to launch the 10.10 Shopping Festival to support retailers in their efforts to keep up with demand now and through the entire holiday season.”

“We’re thrilled to thank our loyal users by offering big kicks throughout Shopper Appreciation Weekend, and to partner with Coresight Research to make the 10.10 Shopping Festival a reality for shoppers across the country,” said Dave Fisch, GM of Shopkick. “By rewarding consumers throughout the entire online and in-store shopping experience, we hope to make it that much easier to check off all of their holiday needs, while also offering a chance to give back to a worthy cause.” 
 
"The core DNA of the Fashwire platform is to create connectivity between consumers and retailers. The 10.10 Shopping Festival speaks to just that,” said Kimberly Carney, Fashwire founder and CEO. “As founders we wanted to create something revolutionary, innovative and accessible for both our brands and the consumer while being philanthropic simultaneously. We have taken all of the current market passion points and aligned them with a modern virtual experience that will allow consumers to shop covetable season must-haves early while giving back."