Singles' Day goal already achieved

China's e-commerce giants are gearing up for the annual online shopping frenzy which is Singles' Day, an observance which falls on November 11. Wang Yulei, president of Alibaba Group's business-to-consumer marketplace Tmall, said at a recent conference that about 27,000 online vendors - including more than 200 international sellers - have so far joined its promotional campaign for this year's bonanza.

Once again, Singles' Day is also expected to put huge pressure on China's delivery companies. According to estimates from the China Express Association, 251 million parcels are expected to ship on November 11, 100 million more than last year; while 510 million packages will be handled between November 11 and 20, up more than 70 percent from a year ago.

In preparation for the big day, online vendors have been stocking up, while delivery companies busily recruit new hands. Shockingly though, few consider this concentration of energy and human resources around such a tight window of time as wasteful.

In the past, Singles' Day promotions were a good way to encourage people to shop online. Now that the public has embraced online shopping, it seems unnecessary to fixate on one day.