Beijing: Chinese consumers are spending billions of dollars shopping online for anything from diapers to diamonds on “Singles Day,” a day of promotions that has grown into the world’s biggest e-commerce event.
China’s e-commerce giant, Alibaba Group, said a record sales by the thousands of retailers on its platforms had exceeded 168 billion yuan ($25 billion) yesterday.
By comparison, American shoppers last year spent more than $5 billion shopping online on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday.
To pump sales, the Chinese company also hosted a star-studded gala with film star Nicole Kidman and American rapper Pharrell Williams. Chief executive officer Daniel Zhang said the company wants to make the event more global, and is planning to take its gala overseas soon, without giving a time frame. This year, shoppers from at least 225 countries and regions swarmed the e-commerce giant to scoop up discounted lobster, iPhones and refrigerators.
Singles Day was started by Chinese college students in the 1990s as a version of Valentine’s Day for people without romantic partners.
Sales bonanza
Annual frenzy posted a 39% increase in sales.
About 90% of transactions were done via mobile.
At its peak, the company’s processors handled 256,000 transactions per second.
Chinese spend $20b online on ‘Singles Day’
