Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (阿里巴巴) yesterday smashed last year’s record for its Singles’ Day sales event, surpassing 168 billion yuan (US$24.15 billion) in sales in under 16 hours.
This year, Alibaba said there were about 180,000 brands participating in Singles’ Day, and as of 8pm yesterday, sales were nearing US$27 billion.
Singles’ Day, also called “Double 11,” is the world’s biggest online sales event, outstripping US shopping holiday Black Friday.
Photo: Bloomberg
The Chinese event was originally a novelty student holiday to celebrate being single, countering Valentine’s Day, but has since grown into a month-long online shopping festival that peaks with a 24-hour sales frenzy on Nov. 11.
A disproportionately large number of sales are recorded in the first minutes of the 24-hour spending spree, when transactions are recorded for items that have been put on hold.
The company settled about 69 billion yuan in the first hour of Singles’ Day, up about 21 percent from last year’s early haul of 57 billion yuan.
Items selling well included smartphones and other electronics, but also staples such as milk powder and diapers.
While the company surpassed last year’s sales just before 4pm, the rate was slower than last year, when it broke the 2016 record about four hours earlier at midday.
Analysts have said that despite continued strong growth, sales are likely to be hit by economic headwinds and competition from new sales events.
“With an increasing number of promotion events a year, consumers no longer feel that Double 11 is the only opportunity to get good bargains,” said Pedro Yip, partner at consulting firm Oliver Wyman.
“Having said that, there are more consumers who still enjoy shopping at Double 11 than those that don’t,” he said.
Alibaba started this year’s sales with a gala event that featured US singer Mariah Carey, a Japanese Beyonce impersonator and a shoe-shopping-themed Cirque du Soleil performance.
It is expected to be the company’s final November sale event with founder and chairman Jack Ma (馬雲) at the helm.
Chief executive Daniel Zhang (張勇) is to take over as chairman next year, the company said in September.
While sales growth remains steady, Alibaba’s stock has dropped 16 percent this year amid economic uncertainties linked to brewing trade tensions between China and the US.
Earlier this month, Alibaba revised down its full-year revenue forecast, sending a chill through investors, as it said sales of big-ticket items would be affected.
To compensate, the company would take in less income from its platforms in the near term to retain brands and new buyers, it said.
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