Spray Technology & Marketing Commentary Ava Caridad, Editorial Director Singles Day, Love Day, Spendover and assorted consumer holidays… I’ve always felt very uneasy by the “crass commercialism” of the holidays. I’m saddened by people who have to work their retail jobs on Thanksgiving, sickened by temp employees who get stampeded to death on Black Friday and perplexed by shoppers who stand in lines at 4am to buy stuff that, guess what, will go on sale again in the following weeks anyway. At least on Cyber Monday, no one gets hurt, killed, sleepy or cold. Now there’s a relatively new shopping-mania phenomenon that I’m trying to wrap my head around: Singles Day. Fabricated by Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba in 2009, Singles Day (November 11) was originally a mock celebration in China for people not in relationships. Then Alibaba co-opted the event into a consumption-fest for all, featuring steep discounts and other promotions aimed at attracting droves of customers online. This year, the total value of goods transacted during Alibaba’s Singles Day shopping festival was a whopping 91.2 billion yuan ($14.32 billion). That’s an increase of 60% from 2014! According to Reuters, Singles Day has become bigger than both Cyber Monday and Black Friday combined in the U.S. gougeables.” After considering Products Day, Christmas II and Spendover (like Passover, but less talk, more presents), the executives settle on Love Day in August. Holiday must-haves included Sir Loves-A-Lot Bear, Lord Huggington (the exact same bear) and the Kisses-Make-Me-Boogie-O’Lantern. Love Day produces so much trash that there is a resulting garbage strike in Springfield. Back to Singles Day—I just can’t imagine what it is that everyone needs so much that they keep making up holidays just to celebrate mass consumption, without even the pretext of a deeper meaning. I guess I’m just a minimalist at heart (who loves Victorian clutter). Meet me at the antique store for some Christmas shopping! 6 Spray December 2015 Cynthia Hundley Publisher chundley@spraytm.com Ava Caridad Editorial Director acaridad@spraytm.com Montfort A. Johnsen Technical Editor montyjohnsen@att.net Susan Carver Vice President, Administration scarver@spraytm.com Doug Bacile National Sales Manager dbacile@spraytm.com Donald Farrell Production production@spraytm.com Joy Cunningham Reader Service Coordinator readerservice@spraytm.com Circulation circulation@spraytm.com Member: CAPCO Volume 25, No.12 December, 2015 Industry Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. No part may be reprinted without written permission from the Publisher. Spray Technology & Marketing (ISSN No.1055-2340) is published monthly by Industry Publications, Inc. Correspondence for editorial, advertising and circulation to: 3621 Hill Road, Parsippany, NJ 07054 Phone: 973-331-9545 • Fax: 973-331-9547 Subscription inquiries: circulation@spraytm.com Internet: spraytm.com, twitter.com/SprayTechnology Periodical postage paid at Parsippany, NJ and at additional mailing office. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Spray Technology & Marketing, 3621 Hill Road, Parsippany, NJ 07054. Subscription rates: U.S. 1-year $50.00; Canada & Mexico 1-year $60.00. Airmail Rates to foreign countries: $130.00/yr. Single copies of current issues: $12.00. Directory Issue (Buyers Guide) $27.00 (includes shipping). Missing issues: Claims for missing issues must be made within three months of the date of the issue. Printed in the U.S.A. Industry Publications, Inc. also publishes Indoor Comfort Marketing The opinions expressed in this publication are not intended to be, nor should they be in terpreted as, a replacement for professional, legal advice. I have to chuckle, though, because Singles Day reminds me of “Love Day” from the TV show The Simpsons. Love Day is a holiday invented by corporate bigwigs to get people to buy merchandise over the “Summer lull” between the “Mom-Dad- Grad gift corridor and the Christmas-Hanu-Kwanzaa spend phase.” The holiday had to support the purchase of “gifts, cards and assorted Editorial Director
Spray December 2015
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