Yesterday, I published this article about how Singles’ Day is coming to America.
On November 11, billions will be spent on Singles’ Day — the world’s largest shopping event, dwarfing Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined. What began as a playful celebration of singledom among Chinese undergraduates has been transformed by Alibaba into a global consumer spectacle.
Beneath the flash sales, glossy livestreams, and exclusive drops — including Nike’s limited-edition Singles’ Day sneakers — lies something more significant: a societal shift that’s been building since peak marriage in the 1960s.
I call it the Solo Economy.
The word “economy” comes from the Greek oikonomia — the management of a household. For centuries, that household was presumed to be a couple. Two adults tethered by law, religion, and tradition.
The world remains built for two. More than a thousand laws and policies — from tax codes to Social Security — reward marriage. Housing policy favors families. Workplace benefits are designed around spouses and dependents. Singles are also culturally sidelined: pastors preach family, politicians speak only to “working families,” and American businesses often ignore solos as a distinct market.
Nearly every system — financial, social, political, religious, architectural — pushes against the single. But here’s the reality: singles aren’t the exception anymore.
Today, nearly half of U.S. adults are single — and half of them aren’t seeking a relationship. Marriage is being delayed, redefined, or abandoned altogether: a quarter of Millennials and a third of Gen Z are projected to never marry. One-person households are now the most common type in the United States, while the nuclear family has fallen to third.
Sociologist Zygmunt Bauman used the metaphor of liquid modernity — a time when life moves faster than the institutions meant to contain it. Increasingly, people are living in liquid ways: buying homes solo, semi-retiring early, engaging in medical tourism, working remotely, and breaking from tradition. They’re often not waiting for a partner. Singles are choosing autonomy, mobility, and self-reliance. Culture evolves. Individuals adapt. But the systems we rely on — from taxes to healthcare to housing — remain frozen.
The Solo Economy names a new reality: that a family of one will become the foundation of contemporary economic and cultural life. As a behavioral economist and advocate for the opportunities of single living, I’ve seen this shift unfold not just in the data, but in people’s lives. Singles aren’t just adapting to this transformation; they’re leading it.
Money & Work
Singles are at the forefront of freelancing, entrepreneurship, and portfolio careers — trading stability for freedom and building lives that prioritize autonomy over entanglement. With fewer logistical and financial obligations, they enjoy greater optionality and mobility than their coupled peers. The rise of generative AI will only accelerate this shift, lowering the barriers to solo ventures and enabling a new class of solopreneurs who can work anywhere, at any time, on their own terms.
Housing & Travel
Singles are shaping emerging offerings for smaller, more flexible ways of living. From micro-units and co-living spaces to short-term rentals and van life, singles are rejecting the one-size-fits-all household model. They’re choosing cities, home designs, and mobility options that support independence. The majority of digital nomads are single — not because they have to be, but because they’re uniquely positioned to flourish in a mobile, flexible, and globalized world.
Connection & Community
Singles are expanding what connection looks like. Research shows they tend to have more friends and deeper community involvement than their partnered peers. They’re inventing new models of support: platonic partnerships, co-housing arrangements, friend-based caregiving networks, and chosen families. Think Golden Girls 2.0. They’re also designing rituals — for holidays, birthdays, even breakups — that infuse single life with meaning, without needing a marriage license to legitimize it.
Health & Aging
“Who will take care of you?” is a real question — but for singles, it’s a design challenge, not a death sentence. They are often pioneers of preventive care, fitness, and emotional resilience. Many are crafting semi-retired lives that blend purpose with autonomy, long before their coupled peers consider downsizing. And as technology advances, new tools — from AI health assistants to in-home robots — will empower aging singles to maintain independence longer than ever before.
I don’t know exactly when the Solo Economy will tip from subtle to profound, but the signals are already flashing. As Singles’ Day makes clear, Asian markets recognize the buying power of solos. Western businesses won’t be far behind. Eventually, politicians will stop speaking only to “working families,” and media narratives will catch up to reality: not everyone wants to ride the relationship escalator.
Sweden offers a preview of what becomes possible when institutions align with how people actually live. Swedish social policies are designed around a “family of one,” where benefits — from healthcare to housing to parental leave — are distributed to individuals, not households of two or more.
The Solo Economy is already here. The only question is how long we’ll wait before the ice breaks.