Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd said it racked up more than $5 billion (roughly Rs. 33,515 crores) in transactions in the first hour of its annual ‘Singles’ Day’ sales blitz on Friday – a third more than in the first hour of last year’s spree.
The 24-hour event held annually on November 11 offers a benchmark for Alibaba’s performance and an insight into China’s swing to online shopping, especially via smartphones. Launched in 2009, Alibaba’s version of the event was designed to encourage consumers without a partner to treat themselves.
Always accompanied by celebrity razzmatazz – sports stars David Beckham and Kobe Bryant attended Alibaba’s countdown this year – Singles’ Day shifts more goods than Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the United States combined. Sales on Alibaba platforms, which include Tmall and Taobao, are tipped to exceed $20 billion (roughly Rs. 1,33,993 crores) this year, up from $14 billion (roughly Rs. 93,858 crores) last year.
“Back in 2013, CNY 35 billion ($5.15 billion or roughly Rs. 34,523 crores) was our one-day GMV (gross merchandise volume),” said Chief Executive Officer Daniel Zhang in a live micro-blog posting on Alibaba’s event. “Now we can achieve it in one hour.”
Sales officially opened at midnight, releasing a wave of pre-orders that shoppers had placed ahead of the event and propelling the first billion dollars of transactions in just under 5 minutes, Alibaba said on its official microblog.
Alibaba is not the only retailer to mark November 11 with a massive sales drive. China’s no. 2 e-commerce player – and bitter Alibaba rival – JD.com Inc and many others also offer discount deals on the day.
The rise of Singles Day reflects how China’s consumers, armed with smartphones, are racing online to shop – to the detriment of bricks and mortar stores. Alibaba said on Friday 84 percent of sales in the first two hours were via mobile devices, up from last year.
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