The hot season starts faster than you think: how should a seller prepare for the 11.11 and "Barakali Juma" (Blessed Friday) promotions?
During the discount period of just a few weeks in November, global online sales turn over funds comparable to the budget of an entire country. On just one day of "Black Friday" in 2025, shoppers spent $79 billion online, while during the one month of the discount festival in China, this figure amounted to $253 billion.
The hot season is coming faster than expected: how should a seller prepare for the 11.11 and "Barakali Juma" (Blessed Friday) promotions?
Buyers around the world look forward to the "11.11" and "Barakali Juma" promotions to buy New Year gifts in advance or to finally purchase an expensive item with a huge discount. For sellers, this is a period when demand reaches its peak, and making a mistake at this time is particularly costly. Without product stock, well-thought-out economics, effective advertising, and fast delivery, even big discounts do not guarantee results.
How did the "11.11" promotion come about?
The history of "11.11" discounts, or World Shopping Day, began not from a desire to make a profit, but from the Singles' Day celebrated in China on November 11.
In 2009, Alibaba decided to monetize Singles' Day and launched a "50% discount on brand products" promotion on November 11, in which 27 sellers participated. The experiment was successful: over time, the local holiday in China turned into one of the largest sales periods in global e-commerce.
Interest in November discounts is growing steadily. In 2025, global online sales during Cyber Week reached $336.6 billion — 7 percent more than the previous year. Cyber Monday sales also grew, amounting to $53 billion (+7 percent year-on-year) [4].
At the same time, buyers placed 70 percent of online orders during this period via mobile devices. In addition, the discount period is stretching longer, and digital channels are becoming even more important for purchases.
According to the National Statistics Committee of Uzbekistan, the e-commerce market in the country doubled during 2025: from 15.21 trillion soums to 33.55 trillion soums.
The number of buyers using mobile financial services for payments is also steadily increasing. For example, in 2025, the volume of transactions made through mobile banking applications increased 1.6 times over the year, amounting to 646 trillion soums.