HONG KONG – Alice Zhang, a 29-year-old marketer in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, has spent only roughly half what she did last year during the “Singles' Day” online shopping festival, switching to cheaper choices and giving up on buying new shoes after pay was cut by more than 20%.

That's typical, analysts say, of the trend for the extended discount campaign that is China's equivalent to Black Friday sales, initiated by China’s Alibaba in 2009 as a 1-day event on Nov. 11 -- Double 11 in Chinese parlance, and considered a symbol of unattached singles.

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“I’ve made a conscious effort to cut back,” said Zhang, who spent around 3,000 yuan ($421) this year.

Singles’ Day spending is closely watched by observers and economists as an indicator for the wider econom

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