How much will you pay for a package of cow dung? Things you didn't know about shopping month

An article about the history and trivia of shopping month, including China's Singles' Day (11.11) and America's Black Friday. It describes the origins of these holidays, sales figures, violent incidents, retail scams, packaging waste, and the surplus of men in China.

A comprehensive article on the history and trivia of shopping month, covering China's Singles' Day (11.11) and America's Black Friday. It describes how Daniel Zhang, CEO of Tmall (Alibaba's shopping arm), launched Singles' Day in 2009 as an imitation of Black Friday, and how sales soared from $7.6 million on the day itself to $84.5 billion in 2021 (over the first 11 days of the month). Since 2022, Alibaba has stopped publishing figures. The article notes violent incidents on Black Friday, including the death of a Walmart employee in 2008 and a shooting at a Toys "R" Us store that same year. The Black Friday Death Count website lists 17 deaths and 128 injuries since 2006. It also provides data on retail scams in 2025, packaging waste in China (160,000 tons on Singles' Day 2017, with less than 10% recycled), and a surplus of 22.5 million men in China by 2027 due to the one-child policy. The article also covers Cyber Monday, top seller Li Jiaqi, and a 2025 Australian survey where 53% of Black Friday shoppers regretted a purchase.