Singles' Day in China is the world's largest online shopping spree. This year consumers visiting the main online e-commerce sites spent over US$25 billion in the 24 hours, up a huge 35% over last year. And all of that online shopping has to be delivered somehow, which is where the country's postal and courier services come in. On Singles' Day alone, over 250 million packages were handled, and in the whole week it is thought that just over 1 billion packages will be sent.

The shopping day was supposedly started by university students back in the 1990s, who were celebrating being single. November 11, (the eleventh day of the eleventh month), was chosen for its lonely ones.

When Alibaba launched the annual online sale on Singles' Day 2009, only 27 sellers took part, but they offered deep discounts for a 24-hour period. The idea took off and now it is bigger than both Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the two biggest shopping days in the US. The huge number of packages strains the country's logistics system, especially in the first three days after the shopping spree starts.

Most of the money that is spent on the day goes straight to the sellers, with Alibaba making profit from a small commission and fees from advertising. But the sheer number of transactions makes sure that everyone profits very well. Most sellers report that their sales jump two or even three times above normal volumes. Of course not everyone is happy. Some consumers complain over not being able to buy exactly what they want. Others are concerned with the long wait times to receive their merchandise.