單身狗的雙11爲何全民都在買買買

As the name suggests, Singles' Day began as a day for single people - apparently a chance to celebrate for the singletons, or "bare sticks", symbolised by the four number ones in the date of 11 November - 11/11.
顧名思義，光棍節是一個獻給單身者的節日——顯然這是一個單身者，或稱“光棍”相互慶賀的日子，11月11日這個日期的四個數字就象徵着光棍們。

But in 2009 the online retail firm Alibaba adopted the day to promote a massive online shopping sale. It said the date was easy to remember, and conveniently placed in a consumer spending lull between National Day and Chinese New Year holiday.
然而在2009年事情發生了變化，在線零售公司阿里巴巴開始利用這個日子舉行大型的網購促銷活動。據說這個日期很容易被人們記住，而且恰好又正處在國慶黃金週和中國新年假期之間的銷售淡季，正好可以刺激銷售。

Singles' Day rapidly became a hit. Other online retailers began cashing in, and Alibaba copyrighted the term "Double 11".
光棍節很快就成爲熱門話題，其他的在線零售商也開始從中分羹，阿里巴巴爲“雙十一”這個稱謂申請了版權。

It says that since 2009, year-on-year sales of Alibaba growth has averaged 640%.
據說自2009年來，該公司的營業額的年比增長率平均高達640%。

And with a total population of 1.3 billion people, there's still plenty of room for Alibaba also has global aspirations. It says more than 200 overseas merchants from more than 20 countries had confirmed participation in its Singles' Day sales this year, with multinational brands taking part in the "11.11 shopping festival" for the first time.
中國有13億人口，網購營業額還有充足的上升空間。不過阿里巴巴可是有國際野心的喲。據稱已經有來自全球20多個國家超過200個海外電商承諾參加今年雙十一的促銷活動，許多品牌是第一次參與“雙十一狂歡節”。

Even in China, however, Singles' Day has begun to draw some criticism.
不過，即使就在中國，雙十一也已經開始引起了不少質疑之聲。

Another user complained: "I don't know why people are so excited about the 'Double 11'. It's meaningless as they all hike prices before offering a discount."
還有網友吐槽道：“我不明白人們爲什麼對‘雙十一’如此熱切，這一點意義也沒有，因爲所有的電商都是先把價格暴漲起來，再提供優惠折扣的。