Alibaba’s record Singles Day shrugs off China fears

The company, which six years ago turned November 11 into China’s equivalent of US shopping event Cyber Monday, could see this year’s sales rise to as much as $13.8 billion, a growth of nearly 50 percent from last year’s total, according to research firm IDC. The company later revealed that its earnings surpassed last year’s record $9.3 billion, in half the time it took in 2014. After the first 90 minutes of Singles’ Day, that number had swelled to Dollars 5 billion. With other online retailers like Jingdong Group and Suning Commerce Group joining the fray, the day has become a major sales event comparable to the Lunar New Year.

China’s Singles’ Day shopping frenzy is adding confusion to the country’s growth debate.

Also, the company claims that around 130 million users visited its online marketplace through its mobile application.

“This year, Alibaba Group has transformed 11.11 into an unprecedented mobile shopping experience”, said Daniel Zhang, chief executive officer of Alibaba Group.

He assured consumers “a fresh surprise every hour” over the 24 hour marathon, particularly cellular users. The November 11 “Singles Day”, which fell yesterday, has evolved into the globe’s biggest online shopping festival since Alibaba began using the date in 2009 to promote sales through its platforms.

Singles’ Day was originally a mock celebration in China for people not in relationships.

“Some of the brands have sold more than 60% of their stockings and a few have already sold out”, he said early Wednesday.

The Singles” Day shopping event is the biggest in the world held on a day touted as an “anti-Valentine’s Day’ in China.

In order to increase the spectacle of the day this year, Alibaba is moving its results ceremony, where it calculates how many sales were generated, from its headquarters in Hangzhou to Beijing, the nation’s capital.

Alibaba’s sales can be credited not only to its heavy advertising and promotion spends, but also to the vendors on its T-mall and Taobao e-commerce sites, who offer steep discounts on everything from diapers to mobile phones. Despite a slowing economy, China has shown resilience, with consumers buying goods during the holiday.