Singles' Day But Double The App Growth: Winning 11.11 in Southeast Asia

When it comes to mega sales, 11.11 (Singles’ Day) is no longer a China-only phenomenon. In Southeast Asia, it has become the single biggest online shopping event of the year.

• According to a Retail Asia survey, 67% of online shoppers in Southeast Asia said they identify with 11.11 campaigns and actively look out for them.
  
  
• Shopee recorded 2 billion items sold across the region during 11.11 2021, with Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam among its top-performing markets (Statista).
  
  
• Lazada’s app attracted 48 million active users during 11.11 in the same year, proving the event’s dominance in the digital economy.
  
  For app marketers, the implications are clear. 11.11 is not optional in SEA, it’s the arena where category leaders are made.  But not every app comes out a winner. Let’s explore the key factors that influence success in Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam, and how marketers can adapt.

Why 11.11 Demands Smarter App Marketing

Unlike regular shopping sales, 11.11 in SEA is platform-driven. Lazada, Shopee, and Tokopedia initially built the momentum through aggressive discounts, gamified shopping, and influencer-led livestreams. Now consumers expect every brand and app to deliver the same consumer experiences.

• Consumer shift: Discovery happens on multiple touchpoints, including social ads, search, and marketplaces. By the time users install, they’ve already compared 5+ options.
  
  
• Market nuance: Indonesia is social-commerce heavy, Thailand loves celebrity-driven promotions, and Vietnam leans towards the spirit of gifting. Brands need localized app messaging to cut through.
  
  
• Performance pressure: Cost-Per-Install (CPI) and Cost-Per-Tap (CPT) spike significantly during 11.11. Trying to scale app growth without actionable intelligence simply amounts to wasted spend.
  

11.11 Tricks for SEA Clicks: Playbook for App Marketers

1. Optimize for High-Intent & Localized Keywords

Focus on transactional, seasonal, and region-specific search terms that users on the App Store are actually typing in their native language. Monitor daily search term reports in your Apple Ads campaigns and adjust bids for keywords that drive the most conversions, using exact and broad matches to maintain budget efficiency. In Indonesia, for example, users are more likely to search in Bahasa Indonesia, while Thai and Vietnamese audiences predominantly use their own languages rather than English.

Newton’s Multilingual Gen-AI Keyword Recommendation Tool can help identify the highest-converting local search terms for each market and surface regional nuances. For instance:

• Indonesia: “diskon 11.11”, “belanja hemat 11.11”
  
  
• Thailand: “ลดราคา 11.11”, “ช้อปออนไลน์ 11.11”
  
  
• Vietnam: “khuyến mãi 11.11”, “mua sắm online 11.11”
  

2. Creative Testing with Regional Relevance

Feature multiple variants of custom product pages, highlighting discounts, urgency, or festive themes, and test which visuals resonate most in each SEA market. OpticksAI by Newton can help generate tailored, custom product pages efficiently and identify the creative sets with the highest engagement potential in each region. Focus on app messaging that speaks the local language and reflects cultural preferences to maximize engagement and tap-through rates.

• Indonesia: Use bright red and gold banners with “Flash Sale 11.11” badges, featuring popular local influencers or TikTok creators to build trust and relevance.
  
  
• Thailand: Integrate celebrity endorsements with graphics inspired by Thai pop culture or major shopping events, emphasizing urgency with limited-time offers.
  
  
• Vietnam: Highlight festive colors with local slang like “Mua sắm online 11.11” and overlay countdown badges for time-sensitive deals.

3. Optimize App Store Metadata for Seasonal Visibility

Update your app’s title, subtitle, and keyword pool to include 11.11, Singles’ Day, and region-specific terms, ensuring the language feels native and relevant. Keep app descriptions short, scannable, and action-oriented to drive mobile conversions while making the app easily discoverable during the festive surge.

• Indonesia: Titles/subtitles like “belanja hamat singles day” or “Shopee Deals Hari Ini” signal timely deals to local users.
  
  
• Thailand: Include “ลดราคา 11.11” or “Flash Sale วันนี้” to align with local Thai search behavior and shopping season expectations
  
  
• Vietnam: Keywords such as “Khuyến mãi singles day” and “Mua sắm online hôm nay” ensure relevance to local shoppers searching in Vietnamese.
  
  Well-optimized & localized metadata boosts organic visibility on the App Store and increases tap-through rates (TTR)
  

4. Cross-Channel Measurement for the App Store

Combine Apple Ads data with organic App Store Optimization (ASO) insights to understand which creatives, keywords, and metadata combinations are truly driving incremental app installs and user engagement. By tracking granular insights across channels on their Telescope dashboard, marketers can spot top-performing segments and adjust campaigns in real-time to maximize efficiency.

Localized focus:

• Indonesia: Identify high-intent regional keywords like “Gratis ongkir 11.11” and prioritize them for ad spend & ASO updates.
  
  
• Thailand: Compare different creative sets featuring celebrities or culturally relevant visuals to see which resonate best.
  
  
• Vietnam: Track which festive metadata and screenshots drive the most organic installs and retention.
  
  This approach ensures that campaigns are data-driven, budget-efficient, and focused on combinations that actually convert, rather than relying on assumptions or generic creatives.
  

Extending 11.11 Wins Across SEA’s Festive Calendar

Optimizing for 11.11 in SEA isn’t just about a single day of sales; it’s a springboard for the rest of the festive season.

• In Thailand, insights and creatives optimized for 11.11 can carry through to Loy Krathong in November, leveraging similar engagement patterns and culturally relevant visuals.
  
  
• For Indonesia, the 11.11 momentum directly feeds into 12.12, the next big online shopping festival, making early optimization a key advantage.
  
  
• In Vietnam, strong 11.11 campaigns set the stage for Christmas promotions and the Vietnamese New Year (Tết), where festive messaging and localized creatives continue to drive engagement and conversions.

By thinking of 11.11 not as an isolated event but as the first step in a festive pipeline, app marketers can maximize ROI across multiple key moments in SEA.

Ready to make your app stand out this 11.11 and beyond? Let Newton, the AI-powered iOS Growth Lab, help you localize, optimize, and scale your Apple Ads performance across SEA.