Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba managed to break the record for the largest sales in Singles day.
The total value of merchandise (GMV), a figure that shows sales across Alibaba’s various shopping platforms, exceeded $30.5 billion on Monday afternoon local time and continues to rise throughout the rest of the day, surpassing last year’s figures.
This was the 11th annual one-day sales event, also called the Double Shopping Festival because it comes on the 11th of the 11th month. During a 24-hour period starting at midnight in Singapore and Hong Kong, Alibaba offered huge discounts through its e-commerce sites Tmall. Alibaba sales have surpassed last year’s numbers and more than any US shopping holiday like Black Friday.
To help increase sales, Ali Baba has expanded the number of products that have seen price reductions, focusing heavily on livestreaming technologies across its platforms to help sell goods. Live streaming has become a big part of the shopping experience on Chinese e-commerce sites.
International figures have also contributed to talk about products sold on Alibaba websites. On Wednesday, Kim Kardashian aired the brand announcement for her KKW fragrance, which is now available for sale on Tmall.
Alibaba’s new sales record comes at a time of slowing Chinese economy and intense competition from domestic competitors. While Alibaba is the name often associated with mega-shopping events, competitors such as JD.com and Pinduoduo are also offering their sales.
Some of the best-selling products in the early hours of the day included new versions of the 5G phones from Huawei Mate 30 Pro as well as Apple iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max.
As the current US-China trade war intensified, the United States emerged as the second largest country selling its products to China. Jewelry and clothing are the most popular product categories of US retailers, said Jacob Cooke, chief executive of WPIC, an e-commerce and marketing technology company that helps foreign brands sell in China. “There is no downturn there. There is no evidence there is sentiment decline for U.S. brands,” Cooke said.
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