Alibaba Sees Record Singles’ Day Sales

RAPAPORT… Singles’ Day has continued to grow as a major online
shopping occasion in China, with Alibaba Group reporting record sales through its
e-commerce sites.



The total value of transactions on the Chinese retail
giant’s platforms rose 26% to CNY 268.4 billion ($38.4 billion) on Monday,
the company said. More than 200,000 brands participated in the 24-hour shopping
festival, it added.



“Today we showed the world what the future of consumption
looks like for brands and consumers,” said Fan Jiang, president of Taobao,
Alibaba’s consumer-to-consumer site, and Tmall, its business-to-consumer page.
“We are meeting the growing demand of Chinese consumers and helping them
upgrade their lifestyles, while introducing new users to our digital economy
from across China and around the world.”



The annual spending event takes place on November 11, a
significant date — 11.11 — because of its association with singlehood. It began
as a day for celebrating bachelorhood, and later developed into the largest
shopping day in the world, mainly thanks to Alibaba’s marketing.



The festival’s closest rival, Cyber Monday, is much
smaller, with sales totaling around $8 billion last year, according to Adobe
Analytics.



Image: Fan Jiang, president of Taobao and Tmall. (Alibaba Group)