What 11.11 is
11.11, or Singles' Day, started in China as a day for single people and became the world's largest online shopping festival after Alibaba turned it into a sale in 2009. In Singapore and across Southeast Asia, Shopee, Lazada, Amazon, Taobao and many retailers run their biggest promotions of the year around 11 November.
In 2026, 11.11 falls on a Wednesday. Expect teaser deals and voucher drops in the days before, and flash sales at midnight.
Plan before the sale
- Make a list of things you genuinely need, with a budget. Impulse buys are where sale savings disappear.
- Add items to your cart or wishlist now so you get alerts and can check price changes.
- Track prices for two to four weeks before the sale. Screenshots work; so do price-tracking browser extensions.
- Compare across platforms and with official brand stores.
- Check shipping costs and times, especially for overseas sellers.
How vouchers and deals usually work
Platforms change their mechanics each year, but these are common:
- Platform vouchers: discounts funded by the platform, often with a minimum spend.
- Shop vouchers: from individual sellers, which can sometimes be stacked with platform vouchers.
- Free shipping vouchers.
- Payment and bank card offers: extra discounts or cashback for certain cards or e-wallets.
- Coins and cashback: credits for future purchases, not cash in hand.
- Flash deals: limited stock at set times, usually midnight and at intervals through the day.
Read the fine print: minimum spend, caps, categories and expiry times. A "50 percent off" voucher capped at a few dollars may be worth less than it looks.
Spotting fake discounts
- Inflated "original" prices. Compare the sale price with what the item actually sold for over the past month.
- Different models. Sale versions of electronics can have lower specifications. Check model numbers.
- Unknown sellers with very low prices on branded goods, which may be counterfeit. Prefer official or "Mall" stores for brands.
- Too-good-to-be-true reviews. Look for detailed reviews with photos from verified purchases.
Avoiding scams
The sale season brings phishing and fake shops:
- Shop inside the official app, not through links in SMS, WhatsApp or social media ads.
- Never pay sellers outside the platform, by bank transfer or PayNow, if they ask you to. You lose the platform's buyer protection.
- Beware of fake delivery messages asking you to pay a small fee or update your address. See how to spot scam texts.
- Use two-factor authentication on your shopping accounts and payment apps.
Singapore's ScamShield app and the police's scam alerts list current scams.
Your rights as a shopper in Singapore
- Lemon Law: under the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act, if goods are defective at the time of delivery, you can ask the retailer to repair, replace, refund or reduce the price. Defects reported within six months are presumed to have existed at delivery, unless the seller proves otherwise.
- Unfair practices, such as misleading pricing, are covered by the same Act.
- CASE (Consumers Association of Singapore) helps with disputes with retailers.
- Small Claims Tribunals handle claims up to a set limit if a dispute cannot be resolved.
Sellers based overseas may be harder to pursue, so platform buyer protection matters even more for them.
After the sale
- Check orders on arrival and record unboxing videos for expensive items, to support any claims.
- Raise issues within the platform's return window, which can be short.
- Track your spending and watch for duplicate charges.
Next up are Black Friday on 27 November and Cyber Monday on 30 November 2026; see our Cyber Monday guide.
Key takeaways
- 11.11 is on Wednesday 11 November 2026, with deals building beforehand.
- Make a list, track prices early and read voucher terms.
- Stay inside official apps and never pay outside the platform.
- Singapore's Lemon Law protects you against defective goods, sale or not.